How We Met Them
by LoaTurtle00
Summary: An old fanfic I wrote back around 2000, showing how my OCs-the Mitchell family meets the Ninja Turtles. Influenced by the old NT:TNM series. Raphael/OC.
1. Chapter 1

This is just the boring intro that you have to read to understand the OCs in the rest of the story. Sorry if pieces of it get a little too sappy & full of "Southern Hospitality" and maybe even a little religion (but I tried not to make that the focus of the story), I can't help it, I grew up in the "Bible Belt".

I've said it before, & I'll say it again: I don't own the Turtles, just borrowing them from the NT:TNM series. (Back before they changed the spelling of "Michaelangelo" to "Michelangelo".) The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michaelangelo, Venus de Milo, April O'Neil, Splinter, and Shredder belong to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird at Mirage Studios. My portrayal of the characters however, is done in the way that I see them. Hopefully the essences of those characters are consistent with the way Eastman and Laird wrote them to be. But don't be too shocked if there are any surprises. ;)

The Mitchell family characters: Mitchell, Mitzi, Lisa, Sheila, and Eva are from the imagination and fantasy (role) play of my sweet little sister, Molly, and myself (LoaTurtle00).

I chose the "T" rating, because as the story goes on, there is a rape incident that is insinuated (it happened in the past, and the gory details are left to the imagination)

_**Introduction:**_

The Mitchell Family's Origin Story

Written by LoaTurtle00, March 1, 2000

It began in a laboratory. It was one of those animal research labs where they try new medicines on animals, to test whether or not they are safe for humans. The beginning almost resembles part of "The Secret of NIMH" in a way.

A bunch of "average turtles" were injected with a new chemical type of drug. Many of them died within a week as a result of this. Only five survived.

One was an adult male whom the scientists named "Mitchell," after the manager of the lab. The second was an adult female, Mitchell's mate, who was named "Mitzi," after the wife of the manager.

The other three survivors were baby females with no names at the time. One of these babies was the daughter of Mitchell and Mitzi, while the other two had various other parents that didn't survive the injection. So these three were not biologically related.

The chemical injection had an affect on the five survivors: it made them grow in size and in intellect.

One night, after the lab was closed and locked up for the evening, Mitchell found that he could read the directions for opening his cage. He also realized that he now had three-fingered hands with opposable thumbs. He was also getting too big for his cage, so he let himself out. He found his mate, Mitzi, in the next cage and let her out. (Scientists kept them in separate cages to control breeding activity, and to give them special treatments since they were the special ones that survived.)

Instantly, Mitzi began speaking to Mitchell in the same way the humans did; and what's more--Mitchell could understand her! She told him where the three baby turtles were, and Mitchell quickly freed them. But since they were babies, they had to be carried.

With a baby under each arm, Mitchell and Mitzi somehow managed to sneak quietly out of the lab facilities and into the wooded mountains beyond. They found a safe, quiet, and secluded spot in the woods to settle down and sleep for the night.

The following morning, the scientists came to the lab to discover that their turtle specimen group had escaped. When it was concluded that they had gotten out of the building and into the woods, a search party went out looking for the now larger-than-normal turtles.

Mitchell was by far the first of the turtles to wake up, so he decided to look for food for himself and his family.

Half an hour later, Mitzi awoke and she saw the search team. She knew that she and her family were being hunted. When she realized Mitchell was not with herself and the babies, she concluded that he was already captured. She was more than willing to be captured with him, but the thought of her precious babies taken from her care and abused in lab tests kept her from turning herself in. She carried all three of the babies with her and escaped to the other side of the mountain, where there was a small town.

Mitchell returned shortly with food, but he discovered that his family was gone. The search party had left by then, so he couldn't turn himself in. Instead, he walked along miserably until he came to a highway that wound through the woods and the mountains. A big truck had pulled over for the night by the roadside, and Mitchell decided to climb in the back and just go to wherever it took him. He wanted to be away from this miserable place that had taken away his family.

The truck drove him to another town that was strong in the steel industry. Mitchell had found old clothes in the back of the truck, and he used them as a disguise. Dressed as any of the other rednecks in that town, Mitchell managed to land a job in steel welding and construction.

His boss had somehow found out that he was a turtle, but had decided to keep him around as a worker, since he was very strong. But Mitchell wasn't paid with money, only with food and a bit of shelter. The people were nice to him, but not like people are nice to other people, more like how people are nice to their working barnyard animals. But since Mitchell could speak English, he was smarter than just a barnyard animal, and he learned about religion. He figured that he had a soul, so he soon became a Christian.

About ten years into Mitchell's steel job, he was involved in a terrible accident. During construction of a large building, one of the girders came crashing down on him, smashing his shell. If it weren't for the little protection of his shell, the accident would have killed him.

When Mitchell was involved in the accident that smashed his shell, his boss and fellow workers felt that he was too much of an asset to the company, so they found a way to take him to a specialized veterinarian to save his life. Since his shell couldn't be fixed, they decided to make him a new one--and since a steel company made it for him, it's not surprising that his new shell was of steel. It took almost a year to get used to his steel shell, but Mitchell was soon back on his feet stronger than before and able to move in his new shell just as well as he could in his old natural one.

While Mitchell was having his share of problems, Mitzi and the girls were having theirs, since many of the scientists lived in the town, and they were on the lookout for the large turtles. Mitzi was fully aware of this.

She kept to the alleyways of the small town, until she came to an old farmhouse with a clothesline full of laundry out in front. Thinking she was safe, she hid between the two lines of the clotheslines. Then the babies woke up and started to cry.

An elderly human lady with thick bifocals peered around the corner of one of the hanging sheets. Even with glasses, she was still visually impaired, so she didn't know that there were large turtles in her yard.

Mitzi apologized for intruding, and she told the woman that she and her children were hungry and in need of clothing and shelter. So the old woman took them inside and took care of them. She was still unaware that these refugees were not human, because the babies cried just like human babies.

This woman was also a seamstress, and she made several changes of clothes for the turtles. She also taught Mitzi how to sew, cook, and do other household chores.

She was such a kindhearted woman that Mitzi hated to keep secrets from her and she didn't like the thought of putting her in danger. If word got out that she was keeping mutant turtles in her home, the scientists might barge in and take them away, maybe even arrest the old woman.

So after a few months, Mitzi bade the kind lady good-bye and took her children on a bus ride to New York City.

By the way, during the stay at the quaint old farmhouse, Mitzi picked out names for the babies. (The old woman helped.) The oldest was named Lisa, after the old woman's late mother, who was among the first to live in the farmhouse. The second was given the name Sheila, after the lady's daughter-in-law, who lived with the lady's son halfway across the country. The youngest girl was Mitzi's biological daughter by Mitchell, and she was named Eva, after the old lady herself!

In New York, Mitzi was able to find a small apartment and work various homemaker jobs. No one even knew she was a turtle. But unfortunately, the only housing she could afford was in the inner city.

Well, maybe a few people found out that they were turtles. As the girls grew older, Mitzi sent them to preschool. They needed a last name, so Mitzi said that their last name was "Mitchell".

Mitzi had fears about the neighborhood, so when the girls were ready for grade school, she found a church-sponsored charter school nearby.

School became harder as the girls' childhoods passed. When junior high was over (the end of eighth grade), the whole family had been through a lot. The girls had grown into teenagers, and by that time Mitzi had a hard time keeping up with them. So she decided not to send them to high school, because she needed extra help with her jobs.

The girls stayed at home and helped support their mom, and by this time their personalities had grown in different directions. Lisa wanted to become a doctor, so she took some college correspondence courses. She had become the practical one that played "mother" when she was with her sisters. She was also the tattler, and mom's "pet".

Sheila was quiet and dreamy. She was also a loner, who would rather keep to her own thing. Her biggest problem was that she liked to wander about outside. Since it was the surrounding neighborhood that she mostly saw, she got to see the dirty, and often cruel side of the world. This depressed her and made her even more of a loner. However, her escape was through art. She took a few high school art classes, which turned her into quite an artist.

Then there was Eva, the biological daughter, who liked to stay in the house. She liked to cook and do other household chores. While Lisa was close to Mom on a mental and intellectual level, Eva was close to her on an emotional level. She was the most emotionally expressive. Usually, her emotions were positive, so she was always happy and cheerful. Her speaking voice didn't mature with the rest of her, but she could sing with a beautiful soprano voice. Her favorite singing times were while she was doing chores. Even her older sisters agreed that she was the cutest girl. Her cheerfulness made her easy to get along with, and it attracted Sheila with warmth that cured any depression she was in. Naturally, Eva and Sheila became best friends.

If only the human kids in the neighborhood became that nice. Instead, many of them were in gangs that got into trouble. This saddened the girls, especially Sheila, that they had no nice friends in the neighborhood. At least at one time or another, each one of the girls happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and these rough boys harassed them. Sheila especially got into the worst situations, and this drove her further away from trusting anyone.

One of the miraculous days in the life of the Mitchell family was when they were finally reunited after being lost from each other for seventeen years. Mitchell himself happened to be working on a construction project in New York City. During that time, Mitzi was taking the girls out to have some family fun in a safer part of town. They were walking by the construction site, when Mitzi happened to notice that one of the workers stood out from the rest. As she studied him, he looked more and more familiar to her.

He was dusting dirt off himself as he walked over to a bench to get his lunch. The bench was only twenty feet away from where Mitzi was standing. As this worker took out his sandwich, he noticed that someone was watching him. He looked in Mitzi's direction, their eyes met, and they recognized each other.

"Mitchell?" Mitzi gasped as she left her chattering daughters to meet her long, lost husband.

"Mitzi?" Mitchell was so startled that he dropped his sandwich without bothering to pick it up.

The two of them ran into each other's arms and shared a moment of mixed crying and laughter. Mitzi introduced Mitchell to his daughters all over again, and he shed several happy tears at the joy of seeing them all grown up.

Since Mitzi actually had a place to live, Mitchell moved in with them. He was happy to have a family--and female companionship, because he was tired of being with the redneck men everyday. He also got laid off work, sadly, because he was not as young and energetic as he used to be. Though he was still strong, he was tired beyond his years and he needed rest.

The girls were glad to have a father--and a male figure that was actually kind. With Mitchell around, they had less open "cat fights" over girly stuff. Not to mention the fact that he was great protection against the rough neighborhood boys. Eva in particular enjoyed the chance to be Daddy's Little Girl. Lisa liked to be his nurse and make sure that he could get enough good food and good rest. Sheila found that he was good at listening and keeping secrets, and she shared many of her inner feelings with him--some of which she didn't tell to the other girls in the house.

Eventually, Mitzi's jobs couldn't keep up with the family expenses, and the rent was raised a bit with an extra person living with them. So the Mitchell family was evicted. That's how they were when they met some other turtle family--the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 1:**_

First Encounter

* * *

Written by LoaTurtle00, April 5, 2000

"Hey, Raph!" Mike said as he walked by the couch where Raph was sitting. "I'm going out skating—as if you couldn't tell." He modeled the skating gear he was wearing. "Do you want to come along?"

"I'd rather not." Raph replied. "Besides, you'll have more fun without me."

"Now, why would I have more fun without you?"

"Because I'm in the middle of another funk, and you don't want to mess with it. I might just get us into another fight, like last time."

"Well, if you're sure you don't want to come, that's Ok. I just thought you might want to get out and do something fun for a change."

Mike started to leave, but before he was completely gone, Raph called out, "Hey, Mike, you be sure to have a double load of fun. I'm counting on you to have the fun for both of us."

"I sure will!" Mike promised as he and Raph shared a wink and a smirk. Then he was gone.

Raph adjusted his position on the couch by stretching himself across it so he was now lying lazily. He grabbed the remote and began some quality channel surfing.

"Raph," Leo called out as he walked into the living area, interrupting Raph's one-on-one time with the TV.

"What do you want?" Raph said grouchily as he sat up.

Leo continued, "I'm taking the hummer out for a spin. I was going to see if I could get some grocery shopping done and perhaps I'll also just go to see if anything is interesting up on the streets."

"Are you inviting me to come along?"

"Actually, I wasn't, but you can come if you'd like—"

"That's Ok, 'cuz I wasn't planning to go." Raph interrupted, "I just wanna stay here. So why did you even bring it up, Leo?"

"I was just going to tell you that I won't be back until suppertime, probably. Oh, yeah…I forgot to mention something…Venus is coming with me." As if on cue, Venus came and stood next to Leo, ready to go as soon as he was.

Raph rolled his eyes. "Congratulations on having your first date."

"Raph, this is not a date, Venus and I are just having a half a day off at the grocery store, that's all."

Venus looked confused. "What do you guys mean? I just don't understand…that today's date is the first date in the history of the world. I thought many other dates came before."

"It's Ok, Venus," Leo reassured her as they both left together. "Raph is just jealous because we're going to have some fun together while he's stuck at home and bored. He was just trying to dampen our enjoyment." They both laughed as they headed up the ladder and out the manhole.

Raph was alone again, but he didn't feel like lying back down or surfing through the channels. "Man, I have nothing to do…Splinter is meditating, Don is working in his lab, Mike is out skatin', and Leo and Venus…heh, heh, heh…they're getting mushy on me. I shoulda' known Leo was the girly-man of us; ever since she came I could just tell she was gonna be Mrs. Leonardo someday. Ahh, what do I do when my family gets too weird for me? I gotta just get away and think…"

Moments later, Raph was speeding away on his motorcycle. He just blazed down the back streets and alleys, free as a bird. Most of the weight of the burden he carried earlier had fallen off somewhere behind him. No one could ever understand why he enjoyed this so much and why this made him feel so much better. He almost felt like closing his eyes to deepen his enjoyment, but he had to watch the road in front of him, and he noticed it was becoming harder to see the road.

Raph looked up and noticed how dark the sky was for the afternoon. Then he felt a raindrop on his beak.

"Oh, man." He pulled over and sought shelter in an old garage workshop building when the rain began to pour. He was too far to start back home, and he wasn't ready to go back, so he just hung around the garage.

As he looked outside, the neighborhood seemed unfamiliar. He guessed that he was out near the ocean, since he saw a large body of water a few blocks down the street. If this was an unsafe neighborhood, at least he came prepared with his sais.

Though the garage was dry and out of the rain, the cold wind still blew in. Raph shivered and tried to snuggle further into his trenchcoat. He started to sit down on one of the benches, until something outside caught his attention.

What looked like a short, stout person in a black raincoat and hat, was wandering outside just across the street. They looked lost and cold, just like Raph at the time; but this person also seemed like a refugee because of the backpack and small suitcase they were carrying.

Raph felt sorry for this person. The mysterious "refugee" hopelessly put the suitcase down, sat on it, and seemed to start crying while staring out at the sea.

"Hey!" Raph called out, almost startling the person. "It's dry in here, if you at least want to get out of the rain." Raph felt it was the least he could do to help.

The person picked the suitcase back up and scurried to the garage where Raph was. As they came inside, Raph could've sworn he heard a soft, mumbled "Thanks." The voice sounded slightly feminine, but Raph wasn't too sure.

"You're soaking wet," Raph said, "May I help you get out of your raincoat?" To admit, Raph was a little curious about what kind of person this was.

But they just stuttered, "N-N-No, thanks, I'd rather keep it on and stay warm."

"The wind is too freezing, and you're wet." Raph said, trying to show a little concern. "Aren't you worried you'll catch cold?"

"I'm good, thanks again for the offer."

As the person turned around, Raph "accidentally" knocked off their hat. To his amazement, he saw a bald, reen head!"

"Oh, my…" Raph stood back in shock.

"Ok, so I am a freak," the person angrily cried. "So what, I'm a turtle!" It was definitely a girl "person".

As she started to cry, Raph tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. You see," he removed his fedora, "I'm also a turtle."

Now it was her turn to be in shock. "Wow! So my family and I aren't the only mutant turtles around, after all."

"You have a whole family of mutant turtles?"

"Yes, I live with my mom, dad, and two sisters. But we were evicted from our apartment and we're looking for a new place to live. We were even thinking about leaving New York, but hopefully the others haven't left yet, because I'm lost and can't find them."

"Well, maybe you can just stay in here with me until it stops raining, then we'll take the bike and go looking for your family."

Her smile reflected a glimmering ray of hope as she said, "Thank you so much, kind sir."

Raph changed the subject. "So, how did your family come to be mutant turtles?"

"Oh, we were in a research lab and were part of a group of regular turtles that got some kind of experimental injection. The others died, and we were the only survivors. This injection made us mutate. We escaped the lab one night and went out into the woods, where we slept for the rest of the night.

"When we woke up, my father was gone and the humans from the lab were looking for us. Mother just assumed that Father was captured, so she fled carrying my sisters and me, because we were just babies, then.

"Mom hid out in an old farmhouse in the nearest town, where she learned to do household chores, and she even made dresses for herself and us. We couldn't stay at the farmhouse forever, so we took a bus to New York City, where my mom got various homemaker jobs and enough money to rent an inner-city apartment, the one we were just evicted from.

"Life was hard there, and the other kids in the neighborhood got into gangs. But the happiest day of my life was when Mom took us on an outing to another part of town, just this past year. There was a construction site there, and we decided to walk by it. Mom seemed to recognize one of the workers, and it turns out, it was our Dad!

"He told us that he hopped on a truck that took him to another town that was into steel welding and construction, way back when he got separated from us in the woods. We thought he was captured! But he was just looking for breakfast for us!

"So he had been working in some redneck town the whole time! He had also been in an accident that smashed his shell, so now he has an artificial shell made of steel. He's not that old now, but he's very tired, so he got laid off work. So we let him live with us in our apartment. But recently, our rent got too high to keep up with; so all five of us got evicted. We were going to leave New York today, but I got lost, and that's how I was when you found me. So what's your story?"

"Well," Raph began, "I was going to be some kid's pet turtle, along with my three brothers and one sister. But we were dropped into the sewer where we came in contact with some green ooze that made us mutate. Our sister got separated from us, and, like your dad, we didn't see her again and didn't even know she existed until last year. But while the rest of us were down in the sewer swimming in the ooze, this old rat came along. He mutated, too, and he's been like our father ever since. He taught my brothers and I how to be ninjas. That's basically the story of my family. But unlike your family, my family may not be biologically related. Obviously, the rat isn't my real dad, but my brothers may just be my bros because we've grown up together, and the blood link has never been proven true or not."

"Actually," the girl began, "I'm not biologically related to my family, either. My parents and the parents of my older sister all died from the injection. The younger sister is the only surviving biological child of Mom and Dad. So the older sister and myself are just adopted from two different families. So I hope none of us ever needs an organ transplant or anything like that." With that, they both shared a short laugh.

Raph looked outside and noticed that the rain had died down. "Well, I guess it might be safe to go looking for your family."

"How could I ever repay you, kind sir?"

"Well," Raph said as he got on his bike, while replacing his fedora with his helmet. "You can start by telling me your name and age."

"My name is Sheila Mitchell, and I'm going to be eighteen years old in three days. Now I'd like to hear your name and age, kind sir."

"My name is Raphael Hamato," he said has he handed her the spare helmet. "But you may just call me 'Raph' if you'd like, instead of calling me 'kind sir'. I mean, I'm flattered that you would call me 'kind sir', I'm just not always as 'kind' as I should be, or wish I was."

"Oh, well, nobody's perfect." Sheila climbed on the bike with her luggage after she fastened her helmet in place.

Raph turned around one more time, "To answer the 'age' part of your question, by the way, I'm already eighteen." Instead of "speeding away", Raph started out slow so they could find Sheila's family more easily.

After looking for about an hour without seeing any trace of her family, Raph decided to pull over. He glanced at his watch and noticed that it was almost five o'clock.

"Well, Sheila," He said, shrugging his shoulders, "We haven't seen a trace of them, and it's getting late and looks as if it might start raining again. I'd hate to just drop you off somewhere. Would you like to stay at my place for the night, and we'll look some more tomorrow?"

"Thank you, Raph. That sounds like a good idea. But could we get some food before we go back? I'm hungry."

"Oh, there's gonna be food back at home, so don't you worry." He started the bike up again and began riding, this time faster. "Hang on, Sheila," he warned.

"Raph," Sheila said, trying to yell above the roar of the bike, "wasn't your home back the other way?"

"No, that garage wasn't my home, I just stayed there to find shelter from the rain. My real home is in another part of town. I was just out for a ride in your neighborhood."

After taking the maze of alleys and back streets, he rode into what seemed like a large grating near a bridge. After a few turns inside it, he stopped and turned off the bike.

"Oh yeah," he said as he got off the bike and took his helmet off, "Did I mention that my home is underground?"

Once Sheila was off the bike and had her helmet off as well, she followed Raph with her luggage. "No, I really don't believe you told me that you live underground." She laughed a little. "Now, where can I put my luggage?"

Raph took the handle of her suitcase and said, "I'll take that for you, ma'am," in his most gentlemanly manner.

He then stopped by a manhole, lifted the cover off, and began down the ladder, Sheila's suitcase in one arm.

Sheila peered down the hole after him. To her surprise, it seemed like a well-lit area. Raph disappeared once he reached the bottom, along with her suitcase. She still wasn't too sure about going down there. Was this a sewer?

"Is it safe?" She called down to Raph.

Though she still couldn't see him, she heard him say, "Sure it's safe. Come on down!"

Sheila cautiously started down the ladder. She tried to hold her raincoat close to herself, so that in case Raph was standing below her, he wouldn't be able to see up it, for Sheila was a modest girl and she happened to be wearing a knee-length dress under the raincoat.

"You can set your bags down and hang your raincoat and hat over here," Raph said about ten feet behind her.

She turned around to see where he was and did a double take. Except for his mask, a few "accessories", and a belt with a red "R" that Sheila never was able to see under the trench coat, Raph looked naked!

Raph noticed the way Sheila was staring at him, so he asked, "What's the matter?"

Sheila slightly blushed and looked away as she said, "I'm sorry, it's just that my family is used to wearing clothes. I didn't expect you to be…naked, especially when I don't know you very well."

Raph apologized, "I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but all the other turtles that live here with me dress the same, so you might as well get used to it. But if you aren't comfortable, you may leave your raincoat on."

"Well, I have a dress on under this, and I think I'll just wear that." Raph helped her out of her raincoat and hung it up.

"Would you like for me to show you around?" Raph asked her. Sheila just nodded, and Raph led her down some stairs into a wide area that looked like an abandoned subway station.

"Raphael?" The voice of an older man was heard somewhere in the "room", but Sheila didn't know who was talking or where they were. The voice continued, "Who is that with you? It sounds like a young girl, but not Venus, and not our friend, April. Who is with you?"

Raph motioned for Sheila to follow him into what looked like an old subway car. "Splinter…," Raph began once inside. "This is our guest for the night. Her name is Sheila Mitchell."

Sheila walked into the subway car and shyly followed Raph's gaze. Her eyes met those of a furry man, who looked more like a giant old rat wearing old robes. He almost looked frightening at first glance.

But he smiled and said, "Hello, Sheila." This made her fear of him melt away. He continued, "Welcome to our home."

"Hi, sir…" Sheila shyly stammered, as she extended her hand out to him.

Raph thought, "_Oh, no! She doesn't know the proper way to greet a ninja master_!"

But his fears melted away as he saw Splinter take Sheila's hand and clasp it in both of his hands.

"So, you must be Raph's adopted father that he told me about?" Sheila asked.

"Now, what would make you think that I'm his adopted father and not his real father?" Splinter said with a chuckle. Sheila laughed.

"But Raph didn't tell me your name," Sheila said, "So what can I call you?"

"You may call me 'Splinter' if you'd like; or 'Master Splinter', it matters not."

"Ok…Splinter," Sheila smiled at him. She already liked him!

"Hey, Splinter!" Sheila jumped at the sound of multiple voices that came from outside the subway car. The voices continued, "We're back with supper, and ready to eat it."

Sheila heard another voice say, "Good, because I'm hungry after being in the lab all day."

Still another voice said, "Yeah! The skating was awesome, but I need some food, and—Whoa!...Whose raincoat and bags are those?"

Splinter looked at Raph and said, "Why don't we introduce Sheila to everyone else?" So the three of them walked out of the subway car.

The others were in the kitchen area preparing the food. Raph had been right that they all dressed the same, except for different colors, but by now Sheila wasn't as shocked to see them this way.

Raph spoke up, "Hey, guys, I'd like to introduce you to Sheila Mitchell, our guest of the night." As the others looked in Sheila's direction, Raph said to her, "And Sheila, this is…," he pointed to a guy wearing purple that was sitting at the table, "Donatello," to a guy in blue holding a grocery bag, "Leonardo," to a girl in a lighter shade of blue who was helping set the table, "Venus de Milo," and to another guy in orange who was carrying dishes, "Michaelangelo." Then he leaned over and whispered to Sheila, "You'll prolly just remember that my name is the only one that doesn't end in 'o'."

"So…Raph," began Mike, "Where did you find another girl turtle?"

"Well," Raph started, "I can't remember where I was, but I was riding on my bike out near the ocean, when it started raining. When I got out of the rain, I saw her wandering around with her raincoat and bags, and I invited her to come out of the rain. It turns out that she has a family, but she got lost and separated from them. We tried looking for her family, but when we couldn't find them, I just decided to take her home with me, where she could have food and a place to sleep."

Splinter spoke up, "Why don't we let Sheila sleep in the room with Venus? Venus, perhaps you could show her your room and make a place for her to sleep, by then our dinner should be ready."

A thought struck Raph. _How will those two girls get along?_ They both seemed like nice girls, but they were so different. Venus was taller and more muscle-toned; while Sheila was a few inches shorter and slightly more broad-shouldered, but not at all fat. Venus was dressed as a "warrior princess", while Sheila just had on a knee-length, sleeveless, gray dress with a pocket on the chest. She didn't even have a mask.

Venus stepped forward, smiled at Sheila, and motioned for her to follow. On the way, Sheila stopped to get her bags, and Venus helped her carry the suitcase. They both seemed a little intimidated of each other.

Venus decided to be the first to break the ice. "Well, here's my room," she said once they arrived. "You may put your stuff down, and I'll go get the cot." She then disappeared out of the room for a few moments.

When she returned, she had a folded-up cot with her. Sheila volunteered to help her set it up.

"What do you think?" Venus asked once it was all set up, complete with sheets and a pillow.

Sheila just sighed as she lied down on it. "It's very comfy," Sheila commented while rubbing and fluffing her pillow (it was actually her own pillow and blanket from out of her suitcase that they used). She continued, "I just can't wait to sleep on it tonight."

She then realized that she was lying in a position that didn't look too lady-like, though it was comfortable. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized as she corrected her position, "it's just that I'm so comfortable…I know it's not even my room and all…"

"That's Ok," Venus said giving her an understanding look. "This is my room. The guys don't even come in here. The door is closed, so you can feel free to be yourself in here. This is the girls' room." She then walked over to another door and opened it. "This is the girls' bathroom. Can you believe the guys didn't like how I took over their bathroom so much, that they gave me my own bathroom?" The two of them laughed.

"I'd like to thank you for being so nice and sharing your room with me," Sheila said. "It almost makes me want to stay longer than just one night. I know I'm lost and apart from my family, but I feel safe here, and I wish I could bring my family here to stay. You are absolutely sure the guys don't come in here, aren't you?"

"Of course," Venus nodded, "But if they needed me for anything while I was in here, they would knock."

"How exactly do they treat you?" Sheila asked, "Do they push you around because you're the only girl? Do they control you?"

"No," Venus answered, "They respect me and my rights. Though they seem to be annoyed about me once in a while, I know they care about me. I also know I can trust them. They're my family. The other turtles are like brothers to me, and I've had many fun times with them. Splinter is like a father to me, and he's the one I can talk to whenever I have a personal problem."

A few tears of relief came to Sheila's eyes, and she said, "I'm so glad." Venus gave her a comforting pat on the shell.

A knock at the door interrupted the "sisterly moment". A voice on the other side said, "Girls…supper's ready."

"Coming, Leo," Venus replied as she took Sheila's arm and led her to the door.

The guy in the blue mask was waiting outside. He and Venus smiled at each other. He then turned to Sheila and said, "Raph said that you might be hungry. I sure hope you are because we have a lot of food. But perhaps over supper you can tell us your story."

They came back into the kitchen area where the others were. Sheila chose to sit next to Raph and across from Venus, for they were the two familiar ones besides Splinter.

"Let's chow down!" The excited guy in the orange exclaimed.

"Wait!" Sheila said, "We didn't thank God for the food. Please, it's family tradition."

"I'll say the prayer," volunteered the purple guy as he looked at Sheila for "permission", she smiled and nodded, and everyone bowed their heads as Don prayed to thank God for the food, with a special thanks for bringing a new friend to them.

After they said "Amen", Splinter looked at Sheila and said, "Now that we're all together, would you mind sharing with us the story of your origin, and tell us about your family and your situation?"

"Ok," Sheila smiled and began telling her story.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 2:**_

**Bringing Down the Walls**

**Written by LoaTurtle00 on April 9, 2000**

The following morning, the other Turtles (excluding Sheila) were making breakfast after their morning workout.

"So, did Sheila even know about morning workout?" Mike asked.

"I told her about it," Venus began, "but she had a long day yesterday, and she needed the extra sleep. Besides, she isn't even a fighter."

"What a bummer," stated Raph. "It's bad enough that we meet another girl turtle that can't stay with us very long, but it's worse that she can't be part of our team, since she doesn't fight."

"She doesn't have to be into fighting to be on our team," noted Don, "I mean, I'm not much of a fighter, but you let me stay. She could perhaps help us in some other way."

"But she has a family that's missing her," Raph said, "that's the main reason why she can't stay long. And since I found her, and I know where I found her, I guess that means I should be the one to take her back home." Then he mumbled to himself so that no one else could hear,_ "Man, I'm gonna miss her. I sure wish we had more time to bond with her and get to know her."_

At that moment, a sleepy-eyed Sheila wandered into the kitchen. Though she looked tired, she happily said, "Good morning, everyone."

And everyone replied, "Good morning, Sheila."

Mike brought her a bowl of cereal, which she gladly accepted, and he said, "Here is your breakfast, _madam._ We certainly don't want to send you home hungry."

Raph sat next to her with his own bowl of cereal and said, "Guess what? I get to take you home this morning as soon as you're ready."

Then Splinter came in with an announcement. "I just heard the weather report on the radio. The roads are icy, and they won't clear up by this afternoon. So it might be much later before we get to take Sheila home. We could try calling your family, though."

"Where is your phone?" asked Sheila.

"I'll show you, dear child," Splinter replied as he led Sheila out of the kitchen area and into the area where the phone was.

Once they were gone, Leo asked Venus, "So, how did you get along with your roommate?"

Venus happily sighed, "Oh, I think Sheila is very sweet. She's absolutely no trouble at all. When I was finished with my shower and I returned to the bedroom, she was kneeling beside her cot with her eyes closed, and she was talking out loud. I think she was praying. It touched me to listen to her."

"What was she praying for?" asked Don.

Venus continued, "She prayed for me! That was so kind of her. I even felt better, though there was nothing wrong with me before, at least that I could sense. She also prayed for all of you guys. I could tell by what she said and how she said it that she likes different things about each of you."

Her tone changed, "But I could sense that there was an underlying sadness within her. When she prayed for the safety of her family, she started crying. Throughout the night I could still hear her crying. I think it may be more than being separated from her family that is troubling her, it's almost as if she knows that she is in a safer place than them."

"I've noticed that, too," Raph stated. "She seems unhappy about something bigger than the fact that she's lost from her family."

After that was said, Splinter walked into the kitchen area. "Well, first we tried to call her home phone, but it's been disconnected. Then we tried calling the landlord of the apartments where her family lives--or lived--and all he knew was that they were leaving on a bus or a train and were staying at the station. He didn't know which station or where the station was, and neither did Sheila. But I told Sheila that her family probably wouldn't be traveling today because of the weather, and they wouldn't travel without her, and that we could try something else later. She then went back to the bedroom--almost in tears."

After nearly an hour, everyone pretty much went their own way and into their individual "routines".

Raph was sitting alone on the couch, channel surfing. He wasn't really finding anything interesting. His boredom was almost pushing his temper.

Then Sheila walked into the room and sat on the couch, only a couch cushion away from Raph. She had the look of one who had been crying just a few minutes earlier.

"Hi," she said in a quiet, weak, and sad voice.

"Oh, hello, Sheila," Raph said in a happier voice. After all, it did cheer him up to have some company. He continued, "There's really nothing good that's on. Sadly, this is what I do when I have no choice but to stay here at home. I just thought I'd warn you that you're with someone who is bored mad. But I know that the others have more exciting lives than me."

When he finally looked over at Sheila, he noticed the vacant look on her face as she watched the TV screen, but she wasn't seeming to watch it--she was just staring into space.

Raph put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Are you OK?"

She snapped back into reality and looked at Raph. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she said trying to manage a smile and a look of "emotional stability".

"Are you sure you're OK? Because if you want to talk about anything, I'll listen."

"But I'm fine, thank you anyways." Sheila sounded a little tense and she tried not to look at Raph.

Raph turned off the TV. "I give up," he said. "There's nothing good on. Would you like to do something else, like go and see what the others are doing?"

"Sure," Sheila said getting off the couch.

Raph led her into the kitchen, where Mike was dressed in his "Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee costume".

Raph leaned over to Sheila and said, "Gee, I wonder what Mikey is up to..." Sheila laughed at the sarcastic joke, but still didn't look like it cheered her up.

"I'm making a peanut butter and bologna sandwich," Mike said.

"Is that what's for lunch?" asked Sheila.

"Oh, no, this is just for me right now, so I can have the energy I need to make lunch for everyone else. That's extra cooking to do, since you came along. Besides, I'm a growin' boy."

"Don't worry," Raph assured her, "he cooks more 'normal' food for the rest of us. He really is a good cook; he just has unusual eating habits. We all wonder if he's pregnant."

"Yeah," Mike giggled, "I think my 'baby' is just getting bigger everyday. Wanna feel?"

Raph put his hand on Mike's tummy, pretending to feel the "baby". He chuckled, "Oh, Mike, you're not pregnant, you're just turning into the Pillsbury Doughboy." He poked Mike and they both imitated the Pillsbury Doughboy laugh.

"So, you two must be really close," Sheila concluded.

"Nah, we're just best buds, that's all," Mike said as he squeezed Raph in a hug from behind, so it was hard for Raph to hug back. Then Mike let go of Raph long enough to announce, "Group hug!" He tried to include Sheila in the hug, but she seemed a little reluctant. Mike tried to convince her to join, "It's OK, I just thought you might like a hug from us, since your parents aren't here to hug you." She was still a little reluctant, but decided to let them hug her anyway, so as not to look like she wanted to be alone or anything like that.

Raph released first, then Sheila. He asked her, "Would you like to visit the others?" She nodded, so Raph said, "I guess we'll catch you later, Mikey. Right now I'm gonna show Sheila what everyone else does around the lair on dull days."

Before Raph and Sheila could leave the kitchen area completely, Mike called, "Hey, Raph, maybe, like, sometime after lunch, you, me, and Sheila could go skating together. Sheila, you look like you could be a skater, whaddaya say?"

Sheila just slightly smiled and shrugged, and Raph said, "We'll see, thanks for inviting us, Mikey."

As they walked away, Raph said to Sheila, "Mike is a very affectionate person. He's that way with everyone. He also likes girls, so you happened to be a lucky girl that got a hug from Mikey. He hugs Venus and our human friend, April, a lot as well." Noticing that Sheila looked a little uncomfortable when he said that, he added, "But I know he didn't hug you just to get a hug from a girl, he just likes to hug everyone, including us guys."

"I guess I needed that hug," Sheila said, "I think Mike is a very warm and friendly person, kinda like my best friend and little sister, Eva. Is Mike your little brother?"

"He's the little brother. Well, next I'm going to show you the domain of the guy who is almost the little brother."

They walked into a little room near the entrance to the lair. Raph spoke up again, "Uh, Donnie, I hope you don't mind if we pay you a little visit."

A voice was heard over by a corner, "Oh, sure, Raph, what's up?"

"Well, Sheila and I were bored, so I decided to entertain her by giving her a little tour of everyone else's hang-out spots. Your lab is next on our list."

"Hi, Sheila, and welcome to my lab."

"It's nice," Sheila said as she looked around. "So, what kinds of things do you do in here?"

"I like to invent things like weapons, fix and repair things, do computer work, and study."

"Nerd stuff," translated Raph.

"I'm also sort of a 'doctor' in case anyone gets hurt," Don continued, "but if you're going to be mean, Raph, I might just let you suffer."

"Ah, but 'Little Mister Christian' wouldn't do something like that," Raph said giving Don a noogy.

"So you really came in here to 'persecute' me, because I'm a Christian," Don said.

"Raph just took me in here to see your lab," Sheila spoke up, "but I'm not here to make fun of you, I don't even know you well enough for that. And besides, I'm a Christian, too."

"Oh, really?" Don asked with interest, " I thought you were, since you suggested that we say a prayer before supper last night. So, when did you make the decision to follow Jesus?"

"Well, my mother brought me and my sisters up in the church, but I decided at age twelve that I would make him my own Savior, and not just let my mom's religion save me. Though my mom seems as if she's part of a Christian heritage, she was new to it when I was a baby, and therefore she started our heritage. Mom didn't like living in the middle of a cruel neighborhood, so she was drawn to an inner-city church that gave her hope and helped give her confidence to live and raise three children. She often said that God was the perfect husband for her, before we were reunited with our dad. I could agree with my mom, since God is the perfect Father for my sisters and me. He even brought us our dad, who is also a Christian. This has brought my family very close together." A few happy tears came to Sheila's eyes as she said this. Then she looked back at Don and asked, "What about you?"

"Well," Don began, "I grew up isolated from the human world, just like my brothers. Since I was the scientific one, I began believing in evolution. but after a while, I didn't like all the unanswered questions that seemed to be left up to me to figure out. I was also lonely, and I figured the others wouldn't mind if I went out in the neighborhood in my trenchcoat. I decided to go inside a church, to see what it was about. Since then, I decided to keep going back. I found something wonderful there, not just a life with more direction, but more 'familiness'. After I personally studied with one of the ministers there, I finally decided to put Christ on in baptism. This happened within this past year. But unlike you, my family wasn't happy for me that I became a Christian. As of now, I'm the only one in the family; everyone else is either a Buddhist or a Hedonist, and I've tried to share my faith with them, but they won't listen."

"Well, I'm glad I came in here to find a fellow Christian brother," Sheila said smiling up at Don.

"I'm glad that I got to meet a fellow Christian sister," he said, "and if you would ever like to get together with me and have a little devo, or prayer, or anything like that, I'd be more than willing and happy."

"I'd love to!" Sheila exclaimed. Then she looked over at Raph, who looked a little angry and a little jealous. So she asked Raph, "Would you like to come, too?"

Raph couldn't believe he was being invited to this. Before, he was turned off to Christianity, but hearing Sheila's story sparked a tiny bit of interest in him. He thought of giving it a chance to at least see what kind of power turned Sheila into such a nice girl, though she had grown up in a rough neighborhood. There was also something else that he liked about Sheila, something that made him feel like his anger had no power over him anymore, and he just didn't like the thought of Don taking that from him.

To answer Sheila's invitation, Raph said, "Sure, I'd love to come." He couldn't believe he actually said that, but he assured himself that he would just go as "supervision" to make sure things didn't get mushy between Don and Sheila.

Don looked up, surprised, "Did you just say you would love to come, Raph?"

"Yes," Raph mumbled, "Yes, I did say that. Please don't ask why. Besides, you're always accusing me of being narrow-minded to something that I've never really given a chance. I don't know what I'm doing, but I guess I'll surrender and let you preach to me." It was a small price to pay to keep any chemistry from forming between Don and Sheila.

"OK," Don said, "Maybe we could all get together later tonight, sometime."

"That would be nice," Sheila said. Turning to Raph, she went on, "So I guess we still have Leo, Venus, and Splinter to visit."

"Yeah, I guess we do," said Raph as he started leaving. "Thanks for letting us visit your lab, Donnie."

"Well, thank you for stopping by," said Don, waving to Raph and Sheila as they were leaving.

Once they were away from Don's lab, Raph said to Sheila, "Thanks for inviting me to a little Christian thing like that. Donnie and I never do anything together anymore. First, the two of us have nothing in common except that we're loners, and then he became a Christian, and I really didn't understand him. I just don't think scientifically, like he does; or spiritually, like others in our family. Don is very nice to everyone, though he has a quiet personality."

"I have a sister who is kinda like Don," began Sheila, "She closes herself up and studies. She wants to be a doctor, and she likes to act like she has no emotion, but we all know otherwise. Lisa, that's her name, likes to be motherly and pretend like she's a tough, matronly lady on the outside, while inwardly she is sensitive, humble, compassionate, and caring. She is a great big sister."

The two of them walked into the training area, where Leo and Venus were sparring. But once they entered, the two sparring partners took a little rest.

"So, Raph," said Leo, between breaths, "What brings you and Sheila in here?"

"Just showing her everyone's hang-out spots," replied Raph. "First was Mikey in the kitchen, then Donnie in his lab, and you guys just happened to be next. Congratulations."

Leo looked at Sheila and asked, "Would you like to spar with us?"

"I don't know how," she answered.

"Besides, Leo, she's wearing a dress," Venus observed. Turning to Sheila, she said, "But I guess you can still watch, if you'd like. I'm going to get a drink before we spar some more."

"Tell you what, Venus," Leo called after her, "Why don't you just take a full break and sit with Sheila. I think I'll just spar with my good old sparring partner--Raph."

Venus sat next to Sheila to watch the "little" sparring match between Leo and Raph. "This should be interesting," she whispered to Sheila. "These two are such good sparring partners, that their matches look real. Sometimes they really do start fighting, but I hope they will behave around ladies like us."

Sheila didn't respond. Instead, she just observed the sparring match. She seemed to mostly star blankly at Raph, like she was more lost in her own thoughts than in the action.

As Raph sparred with Leo, he glanced once in a while at Sheila to see how she was enjoying this. This gave Leo the upper hand. It would usually make Raph more angry and frustrated, but instead, he tried to "ham it up" and be silly about losing. Maybe Sheila would like it if there were more comedy mixed in, and he certainly didn't want to lose his temper in front of her.

The last time Raph checked, Sheila looked like she was near tears. But his concern for her was interrupted as Leo made the winning blow.

WHAM! Leo just flew onto Raph, knocking him over. Even with Leo's added weight on top of him, Raph started laughing.

"Raph, what's gotten into you?" Leo scolded, "It's not like you to let your guard down like that."

Raph just grabbed Leo in a headlock and playfully kissed him on top of his bald head, while laughing hysterically.

"Is it my turn to spar with Leo again?" Venus snuck up and broke the attempt at brotherly playfulness.

"Sure, Venus," Leo tried to act serious again. "At least you can focus better than he can," and he gestured towards Raph with his head.

Leo started sparring with Venus again, as Raph was getting up. He walked to where Sheila was sitting, just staring at the ground at her feet.

"Well, that was fun," Raph chuckled. "Leo is just a dangerous character. As if looking at him wasn't enough to scare anyone. Heh, heh, heh,..."

He finally really looked at Sheila and noticed that she was crying.

"What's the matter, girl?" He placed a hand on her shell. "Is sparring just really not your thing?"

"That's not it," she sobbed, "My family has been living in a rough neighborhood, where fights usually happen. And since we aren't trained to protect ourselves like your family, we always get hurt. I know I feel safe here with your family, but I don't know where mine is, how they're doing since I was missing, or if one of them has been hurt by the rough kids."

"So tell me," Raph began, "How is the situation with these kids? How do they treat you and your family? And, what exactly does your family go through everyday?"

Sheila met Raph's gaze. Her eyes widened in fear as if his questions echoed into the depths of her soul's subconscious. Then she looked away and began to cry even harder.

Leo and Venus ceased their sparring to come over and see what was wrong. Leo put his hand on her shell, beside Raph's, and Venus held both of Sheila's hands in her own.

Sheila calmed down enough to speak, between bouts of hiccups and sobs, "I knew that I would be asked sometime. I dreaded telling any of you because it's very personal. It's been building up inside me, and I think it's time I shared the struggles my family has been through that brought us closer together. Though I'm still not comfortable enough to tell everyone at once."

"Why not at least tell Splinter," Leo suggested, "He's very wise, and if anyone would know what to do for you or how to help you in dealing with the memories, it would be him."

"Would you even feel more comfortable if you were discussing these things with another female?" Venus looked with deep concern into Sheila's eyes.

Sheila closed her eyes and nodded.

"So then our—er, your next visit is Splinter's room," Raph said, "You'll need his wisdom; and Venus will go with you for the support and understanding that you can get from another female. I'll stay out here with Leo."

The three of them led her to the old subway car where Splinter was. Venus took her inside while still holding her hands. They shut the door behind them.

Leo and Raph were left alone. Leo looked over at Raph and noticed how worried he looked.

"You've been very nice to Sheila ever since you brought her here, Raph," Leo began.

"I try," shrugged Raph.

"It's not what I would usually expect from you, no offense. You seem happier around her, and not angry at all. You even let your guard down while sparring with me, and even losing to me didn't spark your aggressive edge. Do you like her in any special way?"

This question surprised Raph, but he looked at Leo and answered, "There is something I like about her...something that calms the angry animal instinct inside me...something that makes me feel concerned for her. It's as if she is a quiet, shy person that has a certain 'power' that moved through her and around her, that is also trying to move into me as if it wants to tell me something. I think I like her as if she were my female counterpart, for there is something about her that reminds me of myself. I don't know how to explain it…" Changing the subject, he added, "So, do you like Venus in any special way?"

It was Leo's turn to be surprised. "Well...like you said about Sheila, I see something in Venus that reminds me of myself. We seem to reflect the same values and interests. Something about her calms me down, too. When I'm with her I don't feel stressed about protecting and controlling like a military leader. I also feel like I least want to argue with you. At times I have felt vulnerable to you, because I got the message from you that you were teasing me about how I liked Venus in 'that way'. But now I'm glad to know that you feel almost the same way about Sheila as I do about Venus."

"I'm sorry if I made fun of you for turning mushy. It's funny that I've become the same way, and you know, it's not as bad as I thought. I'm at least glad--though surprised--that we have these feelings for two different girls and we're not fighting over the same one. Maybe sometime you and I could take the girls out on a double-date, if you'd like."

"That sounds like a good idea. We'll have to get together and plan that later. Now I think it's about lunch time."

"Yeah, I'm starved."

Later, the four guys were eating lunch together and discussing the mystery of Sheila's situation.

"She says that the neighborhood kids are mean," Raph shared, "Her family doesn't know how to fight to protect itself."

"She's from a Christian family," Don theorized, "And her family gets into fights. It sounds like a persecuted missionary family in a hostile country. But her family survives mob fights and stuff."

"She has no scars that look like she's been in street fights or anything," Mike commented.

"Maybe that's why she's more comfortable in the dress," Leo guessed, "That's why we don't see her scars, because she wears the dress over them, just so she won't look torn up."

"Yeah," Mike agreed, "Maybe she's gotten hurt in so many fights that her shell and plastron have chipped away at unconventional places." The others shared a short laugh that ended the conversation. Then there was silence for a few seconds.

Mike broke the silence with, "I bet Sheila, Venus, and Splinter will be hungry, since they're missing lunch."

"Maybe we should save a little something for them," Raph suggested.

They gathered some of the leftovers together once they finished eating. Then it was "Together TV Time", where they all squooshed together on the couch and somehow managed to fit everyone in a comfortable way. It was so relaxing just to slump together and lie across each other.

After almost an hour of brotherly relaxation, Splinter marched into the living area, with a look that said that he meant business.

"Leonardo, will you please turn off the TV," he began, "I must talk to the four of you." With the TV off, Splinter continued as he sat down in a nearby chair, "This is not going to be easy to tell you, for I do not know how well you will understand, but you must know. Sheila even told me to be the one to tell you four, and I agreed.

"Her family has been through a lot, especially before they found their father. Sheila and her sisters grew up in a rough neighborhood. During times when their mother was working, they played outside--in disguises, of course. They made some friends with the neighborhood kids when they were young--and three of these friends were a group of human boys. Throughout childhood, the six of them innocently played together.

"That began to change once the girls started maturing faster than the boys. That's when the boys started teasing them in ways that hurt the feelings of these girls in this vulnerable time. The boys also played various street sports with the girls and were often too rough on them, since these boys started maturing and becoming ever more aggressive. You remember how tense and aggressive you four were at that age, don't you?"

They all nodded, and three of them began to nudge Raph, who sarcastically asked, "Who, me? I was never like that..."

Splinter sighed and continued with a sadder tone, "Well, at least even Raphael had a little bit of discipline taught to him. The parents of these boys probably had no influence on them, so they lacked discipline. In the following years, these boys were a street gang of their own, with no respect for authority, no sense of chivalry for females, and no true feelings of love, loyalty, camaraderie, or brotherhood to bind them together. They trusted no one, not even each other, and were always competing even when they worked together to stir up trouble.

"At various times during these past few years, Sheila and her sisters have been caught alone, at the wrong place at the wrong time by this group of boys. Sheila herself was harassed and violated. Her family agrees that the worst case that ever happened to anyone in their family happened to her.

"Because of this, Sheila has become somewhat a loner that stopped trusting people. The only male her family trusts is their own father. Sheila was afraid of you boys at first, and that's the main reason why she feels more comfortable wearing clothes. She thought she would be 'pursued' by someone who might take advantage of her. But I know none of you would ever even think about that."

"What was the 'worst case' that happened to her?" Mike just had to ask.

But Splinter didn't mind, he went on to describe it--in graphic detail! When he was finished, the four brothers were all looking shocked--jaws dropped open, eyes wide, sick feelings in their stomachs, and scrunched up tight as if trying to "protect" themselves from Splinter's straightforward descriptions.

Raph, in particular, was about to explode in an outburst of anger. Fists clenched, he muttered between his gritted teeth, _"If I ever get my hands on those punks that would dare hurt her..."_

Sensing this, Splinter calmly suggested, "Raphael, why don't you go talk to her and ask her how she dealt with it?"

"Huh?" Raph was surprised.

"Well, right now she needs love and support. She doesn't need anyone having vengeful thoughts about those who victimized her, the battle is between her and these boys and should not involve anyone else. So before you sow anger against those you do not know, Raphael, you should go and talk to Sheila to see how she got on with her life without becoming angry. After all, it happened to her and not to you. If she's not bitter about it, then neither should you be; it would only make it worse for her."

This actually seemed to calm Raph, who just said, "Alright, I'll go talk to her, now," and then left the living area. He stopped by the kitchen to pick up her plate of food, and then he headed toward the girls' room.

Splinter smiled to himself as Raph calmly and silently went about this. He also smiled to his three sons left on the couch and said, "I'm so glad to have Sheila with us. Her gentle spirit seems to have left a soft spot on Raphael that may help him find contentment within himself."

Once Raph reached the girls' room, he timidly knocked on the door, for he wasn't sure how this would go or what to expect.

Sheila answered the door. She finally seemed like she was recovering from her previous depression.

"Hi, Sheila," Raph began, "I...I've brought you some lunch that we saved up for you."

"Thanks, Raph," she accepted the plate with a smile. "I was hoping that I'd get to talk to you next. You've been so kind to me and made me feel like a welcomed, honored guest. You also showed concern for me, and my situation, even though you didn't know the whole story. I hope I haven't been too moody or emotionally unstable while I've been here. I appreciate your willingness to put up with me."

"I personally don't blame you for having the feelings you had. Splinter told us about the three rough guys in your neighborhood. I hope it was OK with you that he also told us the graphic details of the worst thing they did to you. I couldn't believe how awful it was, or that anyone would want to hurt someone as nice as you. I know I've been trained to protect myself on the streets, but if anything like that happened to me and there was nothing I could do to stop it, I don't know how I would get over it. I don't think I could face anything in life anymore. I'd just want to die. But you don't seem bitter about it at all; you've gotten on with your life. How did you ever recover from that traumatic experience?"

"I'm glad you asked, Raph. First, I think we may want to sit down so I can eat, too, because I'm hungry."

They sat down and Sheila began after she took a bite, "I was very sore in the aftermath of the event, in more ways than just physically. My tail hurt so badly from being pulled that I could barely walk. I practically crawled home, bawling. My mom and sisters just held me and gave me some first aid. I went strait to bed, but I couldn't sleep. I didn't know if my life could ever be good again. Then my sweet little sister, Eva, came in, sat on my bed, hugged me, and said, 'I prayed for you to feel better.' I thanked her, and then we prayed together. I really did feel a little better starting then." She took another bite.

Once she swallowed, she followed with, "Since then I've been doing more things in the house with Eva. I'm not as much of a Martha Stewart as she is, so I just did drawing and other artwork while I hung around the kitchen with Eva, as she sang and went about her chores. I basically recovered through the support of my family, doing my favorite hobby, and developing a deeper relationship with God. Eventually He has answered Eva's prayer--and my prayer. After several months of this kind of 'therapy', I was my usual self, but wiser."

"If you happen to have any of your artwork with you, would you please show it to me? I'm curious to see what kind of artistic talents you have," Raph said once she paused to take a few more bites.

"I can show you my portfolio after I finish eating, if that's OK with you." She took some more bites.

"That would be fine," Raph answered. "If you like, you could just take it into the living room for the whole family to see, since I'll be waiting in there after you're done. I'll even take your used dishes to the kitchen, since that's on the way."

Sheila thanked him before he continued, "Well, since we're still talking, I'm curious to know how this prayer thing works, and what all it's about, since I'm one of the so-called 'hedonists' in the family."

Sheila swallowed her food before saying, "Oh, that's ok, I'm not a complete theological expert, either, nor am I the best example of a Christian--I guess nobody is. But prayer is basically your communication line with your Creator. All you do is talk openly and honestly about what's going on in your life, how you feel, and if you need anything. God already knows what you need, but for your own sake, it's good for you to talk to God, since communication is a vital thing in a good relationship. It also helps you put things in perspective and think clearly. For example, when I was lost yesterday, I just sat down and prayed for help, and God answered my prayer. He put you in the right place at the right time to cross paths with me. Though you say you aren't a Christian, Raph, God still used you as an agent to help me. Now that I'm here, I thank Him every minute for leading me to a kind family that is willing to help me do more than just find my family. Now God has blessed me with another sister--Venus, another father figure--Splinter, protective big brothers, and a wonderful friend like you."

She stopped talking to eat again, so Raph said, "Since you've practically become one of the family, I'd almost hate to take you back to your family if they're just going to leave town with no place to go. That's like kicking you back out into the cold, cruel world. Do you think your family would like to stay with us, for at least a little while?"

"I hope so," sighed Sheila, "or at least let me stay here, since I'm almost eighteen, then they'd at least have to stay in touch, since I'm here."

"Oh, yeah, your birthday is almost here. Is there anything special you'd like?"

"Oh, Raph, you don't have to...you've done so much for me already."

"It's alright, you're a special new friend, and I'd find pleasure in doing something nice for you."

"I see. Well, I want to find my family and be able to stay here with your family as long as that's not a problem. Other than that, I can't think of anything." She stood up and dusted the crumbs off her dress. "Well, I'm done eating, so I guess I'll go get my art portfolio and show you what I do with my hobby."

"And I'll see you in the living room," Raph said as he took her plate.

"Thank you so much, Raph."

"No problem, Sheila. It was nice talkin' to ya. I enjoyed hearing you share things about your life that helped you survive tough times. You're an inspiration to my life. I've also had problems, but they've gotten a lot smaller since I met you."

The two of them smiled at each other as Sheila left to dig her portfolio out of her suitcase.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 3**_

**One Of The Family**

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**Written by LoaTurtle00 on April 30, 2000**

So the day went on. Sheila got to show everyone her artwork, which they liked. She also got hugs from everyone, since they wanted to show sympathy and support for her after hearing about her traumatic experience. After she got the chance to talk about it, she seemed less depressed, so she smiled more and ceased her crying.

Sometime before supper, Raph went to talk to Splinter.

"Master Splinter, may I talk to you?"

"Raphael, of course you may, anytime you need to, my son. Now, what would you like to talk about?"

"It's about Sheila. After you told us her story, I went to talk to her, just like you encouraged me to."

"Did it help you, my son?"

"Yes, it sure did. I realized that I get bitter and angry over nothing, while she's had it worse than me and she's still a good-natured girl. She told me that her family prayed for her, and God healed her over time. I could always feel some sort of power that's been moving through her, but it seems to come from something beyond her. I think it has something to do with this 'God' that she talks about so much. I'd like to find out more, because this may be what's been driving out my angry feelings."

"Do whatever your heart says is right for you, Raphael. I hope it will ultimately be a replacement for your anger. I've always wanted that you would find inner peace in something, and I can see that is also what you want. We all want to be happy, and many of us spend our lives trying to find that which will make us happy."

"I sure hope she won't mind showing me what it's like to truly be happy. It may take her a while to teach me to be as happy as she is, which brings me to my next point about Sheila. She told me that she likes being with us and she feels like part of our family. She would rather—and I would rather—let her just live here, with us, than go to some unknown place with her family, where they still may be a vulnerable target for any rough neighborhood guys to hit. Now, I still want to help her find her family, and she does, too. If her family is still set on leaving New York, she will just tell them where she's been, that she's OK, and that she'd like to live with us, since she's almost an adult and she's able to make her own decisions."

"I am also in favor of letting Sheila live with us, my son. But I am worried about her family. They have no where else to go, so I would really like to let her and her family live with us, if things work out that way. The outside world does not understand them anymore than they understand us. They need to be protected from danger, and I think our family may be qualified to be their protectors."

Raph embraced Splinter happily. "Oh, Splinter, that's exactly what I was getting at. I'm glad we both agree about this."

"We shall tell the others during our supper, tonight," Splinter said to Raph as they left the subway car and headed for the kitchen.

As they sat down to eat, everyone agreed that Sheila should say the prayer, since the whole day seemed to be about her.

After "Amen", everyone started eating. Splinter began, "Sheila, my child, it is a great honor to have you with us. You're practically part of our family." As Sheila beamed, Splinter went on, "Raphael told me of your wishes to live with us. Are you still considering this as an option?"

"Why, yes. You guys are the best thing that ever happened to me," Sheila said with her eyes full of suspense.

Raph took the conversation, "Well, sorry, but our family is big enough, anyways, and our housing is too small to add another member."

Sheila looked disappointed, but yet told herself that it didn't matter and it wasn't meant to be. Why did the others seem so happy about this? She felt so unwanted.

"NOT!" They all surprised her as they shouted in unison. Sheila was almost mad that they toyed with her emotions like that, but those feelings melted as she laughed along with the others.

Splinter continued, "Seriously, we would be more than happy if you could live with us. It is also our wish that the rest of your family could live with us, as well. Once we find them, we'll make room for them. Hopefully they will feel safer with us."

"Oh, Splinter!" Sheila jumped up to hug him. "Thank you! I just know my family will like it here. They'll love all of you guys."

"Do you have any pictures of your family that you could show us?" Raph asked, "I'm curious to know what they look like."

"I do have a framed photo of all of us," she said excitedly, "I'll go get it right quick."

As she left the kitchen area, Raph lowered his voice to a whisper, "Hey, guys, her birthday is the day after tomorrow. What should we do for her? Any ideas for presents?"

"I think she needs a mask and the rest of the get-up," suggested Mike, "I know she wears a dress, but she still looks naked without a mask and other gear. Who cares if she's not a warrior."

"I can get her measurements and stuff," volunteered Venus, "I could also ask about her favorite color and stuff. I might have to tell her what I'm doing, just so she'll know why I'm asking and maybe she'll have more of an idea of what she wants. I'll make the stuff tomorrow."

"Donnie and I can help," Leo volunteered.

"And, Raph, you and I can take her out skating with us. That ought to distract her away from the project," Mike suggested.

"OK, it's all settled for now," Raph concluded, "we might share more ideas later."

"Shhh!" Mike shushed everyone, "Here she comes!"

"Here they are!" Sheila held up a 5x7-framed photograph, but her hand covered part of it.

"Could you move your hand?" Mike pleaded, "It's probably covering the best part."

"Not really," Sheila almost mumbled, "it's only me, and I'm not that photogenic." But she handed the picture to Mike, anyway.

"It's OK if you're not photogenic," consoled Mike, "Raph isn't either."

"Hey, look who's talkin'," Raph pointed out. "Well, I guess Mike is right. I'm not photogenic, but I think you look better than I do in pictures."

"Awww! Your family is adorable!" Mike was still studying the picture. "Please tell me who is who?"

Sheila pointed to the only male turtle in the picture, "That's my dad, Mitchell," to the older female who the dad had his arm around, "my mom, Mitzi," to the girl in the gray dress, "that's me. Can't you just tell that's my favorite outfit?" It was the exact same dress she was presently wearing. Sheila continued, she pointed to a tall, slender young girl in a light pink dress-shirt and a long, darker pink skirt, "that's Lisa," and lastly, to a little girl with a big smile, in a little-girlish, knee-length yellow sundress with white lace on the sleeves, "and that's Eva."

"How old are your sisters?" Leo asked.

"Lisa is already eighteen, and Eva is still seventeen, but her birthday is coming in about a month. I know she looks much younger in the picture, especially in that 'baby-doll' dress. She even talks and acts like she's a lot younger. But Lisa and I think it just makes her even cuter."

Don stated, "That sounds like someone we know..." All eyes fell on Mike.

Mike just tried to act cute and innocent, by putting his head on Sheila's shoulder and looking up at her with sad puppy eyes. He said in a voice to match, "Do you think you could hook me up with Eva?"

This made Sheila giggle. "I think Eva would definitely like you...Mikey."

"She called me 'Mikey'!" Mike wheezed through a cheesy grin, "I love it! Now she's truly in our family." Everyone had to laugh at Mike's cute, little brother antics.

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Supper had been very memorable for Sheila. She got to know them better, not just as a strange family she was meeting for the first time, but almost as if this were her own family.

Venus was becoming like another sister. During Sheila's "counseling time" with Splinter, Venus had been very supportive, understanding, and comforting. The two girls had left Splinter's subway car with their arms around one another. Once they were back in "the girls' room", they had a fun little "girl talk" that included girlish childhood games, growing up, and the like.

After supper, Venus took Sheila's measurements for her mask and accessories, saying that it was "in order to know what sort of weapons and equipment she was capable of at least carrying", since Sheila was now one of the Ninja Turtles, though she wasn't warrior material like the rest of them.

Even later that evening, Sheila was walking with Raph to Don's lab, to have the devo they had planned.

"Sheila, I know I haven't known you for very long, but right now I feel more comfortable around you than Don," Raph stated, "Not that Donnie is scary, or anything, he's actually a very trustworthy brother. But since he became a Christian, he started to be all 'repent you evil sinner' to me and he's tried to preach to Bible down my throat, so I've mostly been staying away from him lately. But though you're also a Christian, you're not as preachy as he is."

"Not all of us, Christians, are 'preachy'. Preaching is just not my thing. I'm afraid no one will want to listen to me if I don't practice what I would preach. I think I need to be taught just as much as anyone. I'm trying to act like a good Christian, and maybe others will learn by that example," said Sheila.

"Well, I sure learned at least a little—but it was a lot to me at the time—when you told me how God healed you and stuff. I'm a little nervous about going to this devo, I'll just tell you up front, but I thought that perhaps if God can heal you from such an awful experience, maybe he can heal me from my anger and isolation that I've struggled with for so long. After all, I know my name means, 'God has healed'. Does He heal feelings and emotions or does He only heal physical problems?"

"If it answers your question, my tail region is still not completely healed from the injuries, even to this day, but I've gotten over the hurt feelings, which is what I prefer to just physical healing. Raph, I can see that you have the 'faith of a mustard seed'. But that is a good thing, because it can grow enormously. It is good that your wish to be healed is stronger than your fear. We're almost there, so let me tell you a few things to remember, so you won't be as nervous. For one thing, we're going to introduce you to the One who created you and everything about you. You don't have to try to look good in front of Him, since He wants you to be free to be yourself. If you approach him the way you are now--nervous, broken, and empty--He will make you uplifted and whole, if not right away, you will once He's done with you. But if you come to Him feeling like you were already perfect and didn't need His help, you will feel the opposite effect. He takes the humble under His loving wing, but give the hot-shots an often painful reminder that He is God and they aren't, OK?"

Raph still didn't know what to expect once he reached the door to Don's lab. Don welcomed the two of them from inside. Sheila started in, but stopped as she noticed Raph was frozen in the doorway, eyes filled with fear, lip trembling. In a sisterly fashion, she touched his right arm with her left hand, and with her right hand she gently took hold of his right hand and led him inside to the spot where Don was sitting on the floor.

"I'm glad we have a chance to do this," Don said. "I'm also glad that both of you came; this means a lot to me. I think we should begin with a prayer, and maybe we'll go from there. Does that sound good to you guys?"

Raph and Sheila both nodded. They were still holding hands, so Sheila squeezed Raph's hand to reassure him, and Raph gave Sheila's hand a squeeze of gratitude. Don decided to join his hands with theirs while he prayed.

When Don finished praying, Sheila asked him, "Did you already plan a Bible lesson to study, or a song to sing?"

"Well," Don started, "I thought I could start from the beginning with Raph, since he's new to this whole thing. But since I would probably scare him with my big words and deep theological ideas, I thought he would rather hear your version of the story of God."

This felt odd to Sheila, since she wasn't sure if she was "qualified" to lead this discussion. At least she hoped it would be more of a discussion than a sermon, especially if she was going to lead it. But she took a deep breath and silently prayed for God to put the right words into her mouth.

She began, "Basically, Raph, God is very creative and so full of love that He is Love, and He wanted to be able to share all of His love and creativity with someone. That's why He made the world and all the living things in it, including the human beings—and eventually us, mutant turtles, but not until we came along, of course."

Raph and Don had to smile at her little comment, which was reassuring to Sheila.

She went on, "He made the world just perfectly the way He wanted it to be. He wanted the humans to love Him back and keep this loving relationship with them always. But instead of love, the humans wanted power. They wanted to be as powerful and wise as God, and independent from God. But since they were created to be dependent on God, it didn't work out that way."

"I guess that can be kinda like a little calculator trying to be like a big, supercomputer," Don analogized, "Too much memory and far too advanced functions to be putting into a little limited space." Sheila nodded.

"I see..." Raph commented, "Which surprises me that I can actually understand one of Donnie's analogies. Never mind that, just tell the rest of the story, Sheila."

"Well, from that point, everything that God created good fell apart. There was now a separation between God and the creatures that He loved. Humans were now turning the world over and messing up everything that had been made, including themselves. But God had a plan to bring them back to Him and He has been acting on that plan ever since. He gave them rules to live by...only the humans were still a long way from Him, since they made these rules into something harder than they were intended to be."

Don jumped in with another analogy, "Like giving a child a chair to stand on doesn't necessarily mean they'll be able to touch the ceiling."

Sheila continued, "Well, since the humans were still not back with God, He decided to go to them. This part may be really hard to explain to someone who is new to hearing this story, but I'll try to tell it as best I can. God put on a human disguise and went into the world in order to teach and show the humans how He really intended for them to live. In this 'disguise', He went by the name Jesus. I know there are a lot of questions that humans have as to whether Jesus is God or if he's God's Son, if he's human or if he's God. But all I know is that Jesus blended in and looked very human on the outside. He probably didn't stand out too much at first. But he did things so differently from what the humans were used to. Humans expected him to be coming to the 'big', rich, and 'important' people, but instead he went to the poor and the sick—those who everyone else thought were nobodies. Jesus showed through this example that God loves the outcasts. This angered many of the self-righteous spiritual leaders of the time. Not only that he hung around outcasts, but that he said that it was more important for humans to follow his example than to live by all of those nit-picky sub-articles that humans had made out of the rules God sent. They hated how Jesus was changing all of their traditions and was revolutionizing the present way of life, though he was changing it for good. So they tortured him and killed him on a cross, thinking that they would be rid of him. But to their surprise, he rose from the dead and proved that he was who he said he was, and that he had defeated the old way of life, the way that leads to death, which had been in power since the humans made the world fall apart."

"To make a long story short," Don added, "when anything is chosen over loving God, it's called 'sin', but that encompasses a lot of stuff. Anyways, sin is like a terminal illness that leads to death. No matter how hard humans have tried, they could not cure this illness or do anything to stop it as it takes them to death. Death was like a monster that ate people who sinned, but since Jesus never got infected with sin, yet he was eaten by death, anyways, it basically gave the death monster some 'indigestion'. Since Jesus is, like, the cure for sin in order to keep you from being eaten by this monster of Death, by trusting in his faithful love you can be free from the power of Death. This doesn't mean that you'll never physically die, it basically means that you will resurrect—be vomited up by Death—and live forever with Jesus, back at home with the Creator who loves you. This is what God wants for you and everyone else, but sadly, not everyone puts their faith in Jesus' faithful love, and they stay in the bowels of the monster and never get to be at home with God, and this is called 'Hell'."

"Yet the story doesn't end there," Sheila concluded, "I am a part of that story, so is everyone else, including you, Raph. It's up to each one of us to decide where we will each end up--with God or in the bowels of the monster. It's almost like we're living in a video game, and you can't be exempt from it by saying that you aren't playing the game, because everyone is. So I'll just leave you with this thought—where do you want to be when the game is over?"

There were a few tears in Raph's eyes. He was full of questions. He first asked, "This all sounds great, and I want to be with this God who loves me, but it seems like He's doing all of this for the human world. Does He really care about us, mutants, or are we out of the picture?"

"I know He really cares for us, mutants," said Sheila, "He brings my family hope through troubled times. We know we aren't humans, but we are just as capable of loving God or messing up, just like humans. We may be outcasts in this world, but the outcasts are the circle of friends that Jesus made when he was here. Jesus can more easily show love to those especially living in the sewers, like us, since we are better at both receiving and giving love."

This time was good for all three of them--especially Raph, since it started to help him feel more loved and understood. As the devo went on, Don and Sheila read Bible verses to help Raph answer some of his questions.

To finish the devo, they decided to have a "chain prayer". Don prayed first, then Sheila, and Raph would end it. Raph had never prayed before, so he listened to Don and Sheila's prayers to get an idea. Once Sheila concluded her prayer, she squeezed Raph's hand to signal that it was his turn. That squeeze reminded him of her reassuring words before the devo: "You don't have to try to look good in front of Him, since He wants you to be free to be yourself."

For the first real time, Raph began to pray, "God...this has been a wonderful time for me to learn things from my brother, Donnie, and my new friend, Sheila. They've helped me get to know more about You, and introduced many new things for me to think about. I've always needed help in dealing with my anger and my frustration with myself for being a mutant and not being able to be all that I want to be. I give up on trying to do it myself, it never works. I need You to show me and help me do this that I've never been able to do on my own. I had been afraid that You wouldn't want me, because I'm an angry mutant, but now I see that you accept outcasts, like me. I can see that you do love me...You lead me to find Sheila, and she's become a special friend to me. She lets me be myself and I still feel accepted. This means a great deal to me, so thank you. I hope you're keeping her family safe, and that you'll lead us to find them, so we can do what we can to take care of them. Sheila has helped me, and I want to be sure that I help her. In Jesus' name..."

Don and Sheila joined him for "Amen". They helped each other stand up, and they began leaving the lab.

"Raph, that was sweet," Sheila gave him a thankful hug. "I appreciate what you said about me in your prayer—that I'm a special friend that makes you feel accepted, and that you are right beside me in the search for my family. Thank you."

"Well, thank you for being my friend and for introducing me to Someone who loves me and wants to help me," Raph replied. "By the way, what do I do to become a Christian like you and Donnie?"

"Well," Don began, "You make a 'public confession' that you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that you put your hope in him to save you, and that you want to make Him Lord of your life. Then you get 'baptized', which is when you go underwater to symbolize that you are dying to sin and being buried with Jesus. When you come up, it symbolizes your new life, after you have been raised with him, and you dedicate the rest of your life to following Jesus, kind of like being 'married' to him. But since He is God, and not like a regular guy, it's not like you're 'gay' or forbidden to marry some girl who loves God as much as you. Anyways, whenever you're ready to do this, we'll be happy to help."

"How do I know when I'm ready?" Raph asked, "I'm afraid that tomorrow I will have forgotten everything I've learned. I know that right now I'm ready for my life to be different, and I want to be a different person. I'm tired of being ruled by anger, and I can't control it all by myself. I need Jesus."

"I'd say he seems ready right now, Donnie," Sheila said. "Is there a place where we could baptize him around here?"

"We could use the shower," Don suggested. "That will be quicker than filling up the bathtub, which still may not submerse him well enough; and it'll be much cleaner than any of the 'water' that's already around in the sewer. He can get all of himself in the shower, but the submersion will just be in a vertical body of water instead of a horizontal one. It would be just like eloping as opposed to having a big, fancy wedding. But are you ready, Raph?"

Raph nodded.

"You know it won't be easy to follow Jesus," Don warned, "I will tell you right now that it's hard, even for me. I mean, we aren't even living in a Christian home. I often feel rejected by the rest of the family because of my decision, but I still will not renounce what I believe. God has blessed me despite this. It may be hard for you, too, but you will have Sheila and I to lean on—we will be your brother and sister in Christ. That's one of the good things that comes from being a Christian—you share a bond with other Christians unlike any mortal bond."

"I want to be a part of that," Raph said.

The three of them went into the bathroom. Mike was brushing his teeth in there, and Raph said that he wanted Mike to be there to see this milestone in his life. So Don asked Raph the questions, which prompted Raph to make his confession. After that, Don turned on the water in the shower, Raph stepped in the flood, made sure he was all wet, then stepped out, and Don turned off the water.

"Congratulations, bro," Don said as he tightly hugged Raph. He whispered in Raph's ear, "Now I get to be your big brother."

Sheila picked a towel up from the rack and embraced Raph with it. While she did that, she said, "Oh, Raph! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

Mike also hugged him. "I have no clue what's going on, dude, but I think you did something good. I can see it meant a lot to you, so I'm glad to be here for you, my best bud...Mmmm..." He made it a noisy hug.

When Raph's baptism was over, everyone else was headed off to bed. Raph decided to say "good night" to his new sister in Christ, Sheila.

"Well, I hope you sleep well, Sheila," he said. "Tomorrow morning we have a morning workout, if you'd like to come to that. We usually get all sweaty, so you can shower after that. You might also want to wear pants. If you don't have any, we can find some for you to borrow."

"It's OK, I do have pants in my suitcase."

"That's good. Mike and I were also thinking about taking you out for some skating in the afternoon. That is, after we try to contact your family in some way. What do you say?"

"I've never been skating before, so I'm glad you guys are giving me the opportunity to learn. I look forward to it."

"I guess it's 'Good Night'?"

"Yeah, good night, Raph. I'm glad we're part of the same family now, in more ways than one."

"Me too. Nighty-night, Sheila."

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Sheila was up with the rest of them for the workout at seven in the morning. She was wearing old jeans and an old T-shirt with a black do-rag on her head. Since she wasn't a fighter, she decided to be the "water-woman" and the cheerleader. But she also learned a few moves, just for fun.

After workout, and showers, it was time for breakfast. Everyone was discussing plans for the day.

"Venus, can Sheila borrow your rollerblades?" asked Mike. "I think you both wear the same shoe size."

"Sure," replied Venus.

"Who all is going skating with us?" Sheila wanted to know.

"Just you, me, and Mikey," Raph informed.

"Why not everyone?" Sheila asked.

"The rest of us have chores to do," Leo told her (with as strait a face as he could manage).

Splinter entered the kitchen area with the weather report, "Well, today the ice is somewhat melted, but it is extremely foggy. I think today we can try contacting train and bus stations near Sheila's neighborhood. We can see if they have any records of selling tickets to her family. Then Raphael and Michaelangelo can take her skating."

Sheila went with Splinter to use the phone. They used the phone directory and a map to call various bus and train stations within walking distance of Sheila's home. They had some luck with a certain bus station that said they sold five tickets to a Mitch and Mitzi Mitchell, who weren't scheduled to leave until the evening of March 17, which was the next day. Their luggage was stored and ready to leave with them, but the family was waiting for someone at their old house.

Sheila knew that _she_ was the "someone" they were waiting for, so she tried calling them. Their phone line was still disconnected, so she tried the landlord again.

"Hellooo..." he called from the other end of the line.

"Hi, this is Sheila Mitchell. Is my family still in their old apartment?"

"They're waiting or looking for somebody, so I gave them an extension on the eviction notice, so that they aren't officially evicted until tomorrow, when their bus leaves around three P.M."

"Could you please tell them to refund their tickets, since I know they are refundable. I'm the one they're looking for, and I have a place for them to live. I'm coming to get them tomorrow, I hope...if the weather is good."

"Yeah...whatever. And I'm the inventor of toilet paper. It was nice talking to you, Miss America, have a nice trip to the moon!"

He hung up, and Sheila rolled her eyes. "The guy is drunk!" She said to Splinter, "He wasn't exactly much help. I hope the weather is better tomorrow so we can go and find my family."

Just then, Raph and Mike came in with some sports duffle bags. Mike held one bag and Raph held two. He handed Sheila one of his bags and said, "We've packed gear and lunch for you in this bag. I hope it's not too heavy for you. If it is, I don't mind carrying it for you. Are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready," Sheila smiled, "And so far I don't think the bag is that heavy, but if I carry it for a long time I might change my mind."

The three of them started off. They used teamwork to get the bags up the ladder--Sheila was at the bottom and handed them to Raph, who was in the middle and handed them to Mike, who was waiting at the top.

Mike led them through a few sewer tunnels until they reached a certain ladder, where they used the same teamwork to get up. Once they were up, they were in a large warehouse.

"We're here!" Mike announced. He and Raph began to adorn themselves in their skating gear.

"I don't know how all this stuff goes on," Sheila said with a plea in her eyes.

"Here, I'll help you," Raph said. He started strapping on her knee and elbow pads, wrist guards, and helmet. Sheila obviously liked to be strapped up or dressed up like that, for she just relaxed and stood still, just like a little girl when her mother plays with her hair.

They decided to rollerblade first. It was Sheila's first time to learn, so Raph and Mike each took an arm and led her around. Mike would let go every once in a while, just to show a little trick or just to get some "space". Raph decided not to let go, but he did when Sheila told him she wanted to try by herself. He let go, but stood by, just in case she fell. But Sheila was a fast learner at skating, so she could do it without any nasty falls.

After an hour or so of rollerblading, the three of them sat down to enjoy their packed lunches.

"Do you guys skate here a lot?" Sheila asked.

"I come here more than Raph," Mike said, "But I have more fun when I bring my best buddy with me, so I take him along as often as I can. On some occasions, our whole family comes and skates here. It's one of our favorite things to do besides going to the park at night and flying our glow-disc."

"My family likes to play Charades, or some board games," Sheila said, "Those are usually safe things we can do inside. It's hard for us to get out, especially at night, in our 'hood."

"Night time is the only good time for us to really get out and do anything without being noticed," Raph said. "But you are safe with us. We will make sure no one hurts you, or your family when we find them." He patted her shell.

"So what's my next skating lesson?" Sheila asked once they were finished with their lunch. It happened to be skateboarding. Mike was once again showing off by doing tricks on his board, while Raph shared his board with Sheila and helped her balance on it until she was able to do it on her own.

When it was nearly suppertime, the three of them started back. Sheila enjoyed learning how to skate, but it was more fun just hanging out with Raph and Mike.

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After supper, everyone played Charades together, since it was too cold for an outdoor activity and the family wanted to do something together. Sheila sort of inspired the idea of playing Charades.

Once it was time for everyone to head off to bed, Sheila and Venus settled in their room and sat on their beds.

"Did you enjoy your skating trip?" Venus asked.

"I enjoyed it all right," Sheila replied. "It was my first time to be on rollerblades or on a skateboard, but I learned a lot during my first lesson. The guys helped me. They're both so talented."

"All four of them are excellent skaters, but Raph and Mike are the ones that like to do it most often, especially Mike. He invites Raph, who is usually not in the mood for it. Raph used to worry me the most; always in his angry mood. I'm glad you've been his friend, you seem to be a good influence on him. What do you think of him so far?"

"Well...I think he's been so sweet to me. He's very chivalrous and protective of those weaker than himself—such as me. It's cute when he smiles, and I liked it when he put his muscular arm around me to hold me up while I was skating." By this point, Sheila was smiling and staring into space.

Venus came and sat on Sheila's bed. "It sounds like you like him. You go, girl!" And she gave Sheila a noogy.

Sheila looked at her with wide eyes and an open-mouthed smile. In a quiet, unsure voice, she said, "I like him?" In an accepting voice, "I like him." In an excited voice like she received some divine revelation, "I like him!" She squealed while hugging her pillow, rolling back on her shell, and kicking her feet into the air. When she sat up, she was more down to earth. "Sorry about going crazy about it. I've just never had someone of my own kind to like. Neither have my sisters, so I wonder if they'll like any of these guys."

"I think they will," Venus said. "It's just so nice that with your sisters, you, and I, we'll equal the boys, instead of me being outnumbered."

"You're going to like my family, Venus, I know you will. They'll like you, too. It'll be like we have another sister. Perhaps all of us teen girls can sleep in here and have a slumber party just about every night."

"I've always wanted to know what it was like to have a sister, or a mother."

"Well, we've always wondered what it was like to have 'brothers' who were actually nice, and you can introduce us to life with brothers. So do you like any of them in any special way, like the way I like Raph?"

"Well, since I've never had another girl my age to talk with or ask me that question, I haven't really thought about it much."

"What about Leo, since you're around him a lot?"

"Well, come to think of it, he's my friend, but I like him a little more than that. But we're just too busy with other things, so we haven't had time for getting to know each other in a romantic way. Maybe that'll change in time. Speaking of time, I think it's time we should get to sleep."

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**A/N: When the course of the story begins, it is assumed that Donatello is already a Christian, and that inspiration came from Luna's Fanfic Land (http: // thesewerden. 8m. com/ fanfiction/ frames. html) in the fanfic, _Peace On Earth, Goodwill To Turtles_ (http: // thesewerden. 8m. com/ fanfiction/ poegtt/ poegttf. html). (Both without the spaces. I don't even know if those sites still exist, since I read it about 10 years ago.) However, on my site his denomination is not mentioned. (Just in case some of my own spiritual views incorporated into the stories disagree with the way you may see things, and in case it confuses you, the denominational lens that I have grown up with is what I learned from the Church of Christ. But still, it is _my _portrayal of how _I _see it, and my own views can't be objective.;). Just exercising my constitutional right to "Freedom of Religion" while I can!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 4**_

**Happy Birthday, Sheila!**

* * *

**Written by LoaTurtle00 on May 27, 2000**

Sheila opened her eyes and sat up. She noticed that Venus was gone. _Looks like practice started without me_, thought Sheila. She quickly put on some cute little gray overalls and headed for the practice area. She barely opened the door to the girls' room all the way when...

"SURPRISE!!"

Sheila was indeed surprised to see a sight like this, especially after just waking up. She stumbled back.

"Happy Birthday, Sheila!" They began singing the song and they also presented her with a wrapped present.

"Here, let me help you with that," volunteered Venus after Sheila opened her present and thanked the others. "If you want to put it on right away, we can go in the girls' room and change. Sorry, guys, you'll have to wait out here."

The guys moaned in pretend disappointment while Venus and Sheila went into their room.

Fifteen minutes later, Venus appeared in the door and announced, "She's ready. She looks exactly like one of us, now." Looking back inside, she said, "Come on, Sheila, you look great!"

Smiling, Sheila emerged with a totally new look--she was wearing silver shin guards and calf protectors, silver wrist guards, a silver belt with a black "S" on it, silver bands with a peace sign on her right arm and left leg, and a silver mask tied in a sloppy half-pulled-through ponytail.

The guys gave a few complimenting whistles as she strode forth from the girls' room.

"You look cute," Raph marveled as he hugged her. "Happy birthday, girl."

Once Sheila thanked him, Don said, "I have a little surprise for you on my computer. It's probably not as exciting as getting your new uniform, but it's a little something."

Everyone followed Don to his computer, where he turned it on to the tracking program.

"This is my 'Eye-in-the-Sky' tracking device. Each color-coded blip is a member of our family. The surprise is that I recently added a blip for you. I know that may not be much, but it makes it easier for us to find you so that you won't get lost. See, there you are." He pointed to a blip that was shaded with white and gray—white in the middle that became a darker gray as it got closer to the outside edge.

"Thanks, Don, I'm glad you added me to this. It makes me feel safer."

Everyone was soon eating breakfast, while Splinter was listening to the radio. He came into the kitchen area and said, "It's mostly cloudy today, and it might rain later in the day. But now the weather is just well enough that we can actually go to Sheila's neighborhood and search for her family."

Raph volunteered to take her on his bike. Just after breakfast, Raph put on his trenchcoat and Sheila her overalls. and they sped away.

It took almost half an hour to get to the neighborhood, and from there Sheila directed Raph to her apartment building. They tried the front door.

"I forgot," Sheila began, "You need a key to get in the main door. I don't have mine anymore." She sighed, then looked up. "But our apartment was next to the fire escape, where I could get in without a key. Maybe I'll try that." She ran around the left side of the building.

Raph started to follow at more of a walking pace. Suddenly, he heard a scream from that direction. He quickly ran around the corner of the building and drew both of his sais.

Three rugged, tough-looking guys of about eighteen years of age had surrounded Sheila. One of them had already grabbed Sheila by the arm. He was whispering something to her. Raph couldn't tell exactly what he was saying, but by the frightened look on Sheila's face he could tell that she was being threatened.

Wasting no time, Raph knocked all three of them down with a series of kicks. One of the boys had been wearing a belt that came loose, so Raph looped it through the belt loops of the others until he had them all looped and tied around a pole. Well, unfortunately, one of the guys didn't have loops on his pants, but he did have a large loopy earring that Raph used instead.

With the job done, Raph dusted his hands off and looked at Sheila. "Are these the boys that caused the trouble?"

"The very same," Sheila said while simultaneously smiling at Raph and glaring at the gang of boys. On her face the whole time was a look of satisfaction.

"Since it was you that they hurt, would you like to do the honors?" Raph asked as he handed her a sai.

She accepted it and held it over her head, aimed at one of the cowering boys. Taking a deep breath, she counted in her mind, _"One...two...three!"_ She had planned to go for it on "three", but her arms froze, still over her head.

_"What am I doing?"_ she thought and mumbled out loud. Was she supposed to _kill_ him? After all, they hurt her and her sisters, and perhaps a bunch of other people. Sure, it was nice of Raph to put vengeance in the hands of one of their victims, but what about other victims that had been hurt worse than herself? Was this sort of revenge _really_ her duty?

She blinked and lowered the sai. "I can't kill you, Jeanique, and I can't hurt you guys either, Jason and Jerome."

They all sighed with relief, and Raph looked surprised. As crazy as it seemed, it never dawned on him that these guys had individual names. He was so used to battling "the Foot Clan," "the Dragon Lord and his minions," and "the Purple Dragon Gang," where all of the "warriors" were like pieces of an entity, who had no individuality any more. But these guys were just Jeanique, Jason, and Jerome.

Sheila continued, "I know you guys have hurt me and my sisters, and you have caused such great pain for my family, and perhaps several other people. But we all used to be good friends when we were kids. I had some of my best childhood memories with you guys. Jeanique, you had the neatest set of toy cars and tracks. Jason, you were so nice to us, and you would 'rescue' us and 'shelter' us from these monsters we used to make up. And Jerome, your mom would make the best cookies, and you would invite us over to your house to decorate them. Why did you all have to change for the worse since then?"

Jeanique spoke up, "Well, I think in junior high we started liking you girls as girlfriends, but we were too chickened to tell you." He fiddled with the maroon beret he was wearing.

"Then one day these three popular cheerleaders were flirting with us," Jason, the one with a baseball cap turned backwards, chimed in. "When they asked if we had girlfriends, and one of us blurted out that you and your sisters were, they told us to ditch you because they thought you were weirdoes. From then on, we wanted to impress them, so we felt we had to be mean to you."

"Those chicks eventually set us up for a cruel joke, where they publicly ditched us and made everyone know that we were losers," Jerome, the bald one with the earring, added as he flinched with every movement of the belt. "We thought you girls would definitely still hate us after being so rude to you, but we were too stuck on ourselves to beg for your forgiveness, so we tried to find some other chicks, without much success. We thought you girls were the reason we couldn't find any good human girls, and we kicked ourselves for ever liking you. It was then that we decided to eliminate every memory about you, by torturing you to death."

"Why didn't you just kill us?" asked Sheila.

Jeanique answered, "We wanted to cause more pain to you, since we thought you were to blame for the fact that we are losers. We thought it wouldn't look too studly if any girls found out that our first girlfriends were big turtles. After catching you the first time, it just became easier to do more damage. We figured if we hurt you enough, you would die on your own, and we wouldn't have to see you suffer if we left you alone for dead."

"But," Jerome began with a tear in his eye, either because he was truly feeling bad for his crimes or because his ear was in pain, but Raph couldn't tell, "Deep down, we really didn't want to kill you. And now that we get the chance to think about what this has led to, we regret all the trouble we've caused you."

"Now what are you going to do with us?" Jason wanted to know, "Are ya just gonna have your hit man poke a buncha holes in us with those funky-looking forks?"

"No," replied Sheila. "I never heard your side of the story until now. I realize this is just a stupid mess, so I'm going to forgive you and have you released with another chance."

The three boys sighed with relief and said, "Oh, thank you, thank you, Sheila."

She started to help unbuckle the belt, but she realized that it was tied in a knot instead. "Oh, Raph, you tied this, so maybe you can help untie it."

"Oh, Okay," Raph mumbled as he came over to help. "You fellas had better behave yourselves," he warned, "Start protecting those weaker than yourselves instead of hurting them. If you don't, you'll run into someone who won't let you off the hook that easily."

"We will behave, sir," promised Jerome as soon as he was free.

"By the way, guys," Sheila spoke up, "This is Raphael. He's helping me look for my family. They're planning to leave today, but I want to know if they're still here."

"Well," Jeanique began, "we know they were here last night, 'cause we….uh….got your little sister. We were gonna get her worse than we got you, but your dad came at us with a crowbar before we hurt her that much. Sorry, that was before we thought about everything, and I hope she's OK, now."

"Was that the last you had seen of them?" asked Raph as he removed his fedora.

"Yes, sir, that was the last time we saw...Holy smokes! You're a big turtle, too!" Jeanique fell back in shock.

Jason quietly said to Raph, "If you're Sheila's boyfriend, you'd better watch out for her dad comin' at ya with a crowbar. He's scary."

Raph smiled, since Jason was trying to lighten things up a bit.

Trying to stay with the important subject at hand, Sheila asked, "Do you guys think you could go up the fire escape to the third floor and knock on the window that you're facing as soon as you go up there? If my family is in there, please tell them where I am. Please?"

"Anything you say," they said as they headed in that direction.

Once Raph was alone with Sheila, he asked, "How did you decide to just forgive them, after what they did to you? You make forgiving look so easy." He put his fedora back on.

"Well, Raph, I realized that I've done a lot of bad things that I've been forgiven for, and I didn't think killing them was a good enough punishment for them. But truthfully, by myself, I would have killed them, but the Holy Spirit of God was working in me, instead. It usually helps me to do good things that would normally be hard for me to do, and it gives me power to overcome my mortal weaknesses to do God's will. You know what? I feel much better now that I have no angry feelings against them anymore. I know I would've felt much more terrible if I had killed them. Thanks for protecting me from them and giving me the big chance to forgive them, Raph."

She put her arms around him in a hug and she gave him a little peck of a kiss on his cheek. Then she just snuggled in his arms and rested her head against his shoulder and upper chest, for she suddenly realized that the air was getting a little bit colder.

Raph just quietly held her close and kissed the top of her head while she was snuggled safe in his arms.

The moment was interrupted by a little-girlish voice that said, "But, Mom, I thought I heard her voice."

Instantly, Sheila jumped out of Raph's embrace and called out, "Eva?"

It seemed so sudden that all Raph saw was Sheila running to meet a smaller girl in tattered jeans and a yellow sweatshirt, with a yellow baseball cap turned backwards, who was running to Sheila with a slight limp and calling out, "Sheila!"

Three others who seemed to just swallow Sheila up in a big hug soon followed her.

The three guys appeared from around the corner. Before they had time to notice that Sheila's family was there, Jerome said, "Well, Sheila, they're not answering...oh, they're already out here."

The only one in Sheila's family that could be the dad stepped out to protect his family. He began to warn, "What are you guys doing out here in broad daylight? If you even take another step closer to my family..."

Sheila interrupted, "Daddy, wait! They won't hurt us. I sent them to knock on our window near the fire escape to tell you all to come down and meet me. They're sorry for all the hurt they've caused us, and I already forgave them."

"Yeah," began Jeanique, "We're sorry for hurting you girls. We hope you're doing OK now, Eva. Can you ever forgive us?" He went on to explain the story of how the whole mess got started. Once he was finished explaining, everyone was showering the gang of boys with hugs.

"So, Mom," Sheila began, "if you didn't hear them knock on your window, were you already on your way out?"

"Yes, Dear, we were just about to go to lunch, and then we'd just stay at the station until our bus arrives. We'd hate to leave without you, but until now, we thought you were dead, for sure."

Raph heard the conversation. He stepped forward and cleared his throat after almost feeling ignored.

"Oh, yeah," Sheila had almost forgotten about Raph, but she broke free from the embrace of her family to walk over to him and take his hand in both of hers. "Everyone, this is Raphael. When I first got separated from the rest of you, three days ago, he found me and sheltered me in his home, with his family. He would've tried to take me home sooner, but the weather was bad. We also tried to call, but we could never seem to get hold of you."

"Yeah," Raph began, "And I've heard Sheila's story about the kind of trouble you've been in. I also hear that you still aren't sure where you will live, next. Since Sheila has touched the hearts of everyone in my family, we'd hate to lose her." He put his arm around Sheila's shoulders.

She smiled up at Raph and said to her family, "And his family is so kind that I would hate to lose them. I felt so safe and protected with them."

Raph went on, "We would be more than happy to shelter your family. We've heard so many good things about you, and there's plenty of room in our home. Instead of taking a bus to the unknown, we would like for you to live with us. Besides, we are a family of mutant turtles, too, and we turtles have to stick together."

The parents looked at each other. "What do you think, Mitchell?" asked the Mom.

"Well," began Mitchell, "We don't know this family, but it seems like they took good care of Sheila. They must be kind and generous for inviting us to come and live with them. That may be better than leaving on a bus to who-knows-where. We could at least stay with them a few days and see how it works out, if it doesn't work we can take a bus and leave."

"I think that's a good idea," agreed Mom. "So I guess we need to get our money back on our bus tickets and get our luggage."

"Sure, Mitzi." Mitchell concluded before turning to Raph to say, "Well, Mr. Raphael, we've decided that we'd like to stay with your family, or at least try it out for a while. First, though, we'd like to go to the bus station to refund our bus tickets and get the rest of our luggage. It's not that far of a walk; unless you have a car."

Raph admitted, "The only vehicle I brought is a motorcycle. I only have room for one passenger, but I could walk it to the bus station. Once we get all your business taken care of, I can call my home and one of my brothers can come pick us up in the hummer. If we hurry, we could be done before lunch, which we could have at my home. Does that sound OK to everyone?"

They agreed to that. The three street boys helped the turtles load their overnight bags onto Raph's bike so that they could actually stay on. Then they said their "goodbyes" and wished them good luck. They parted as a different gang that day.

Mitzi led the way, Raph walked holding the left handlebar of the bike, Sheila the right, Mitchell took up the rear, and Sheila's sisters just walked around in the middle.

They had just barely walked a block when the little sister, who had to be the Eva who Raph heard so much about, began moaning in pain. "Oh," she cried, "My stomach and my legs hurt so bad. I can't go any further." She began to cry like a little girl. Lisa put her arm supportingly around her crying sister.

Raph had an idea. To Lisa, he said, "Could you hold up my side of the bike? If you can, I think I can carry Eva." Lisa gave him an "_Of-course-I-can-do-that-I'm-not-a-wimp" _look and rolled her eyes before taking hold of the handle. Raph shrugged at the bad vibes she gave him, and scooped Eva up in his arms.

She stopped crying to look up at Raph and ask, "How did you know my name?"

"Sheila told me about you, and that you're her best friend. Besides, I heard her call out your name while she ran to hug you."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. Well, thank you for taking good care of my best friend. We were—or I was—worried sick about her, and now I'm glad to know that we had nothing to worry about." She smiled at Raph, which made him glad to know that Sheila had a friendly sister like Eva to balance out a not-so-friendly one like Lisa seemed to be.

Raph was now walking towards the rear of the bike, on Mitchell's left. Mitchell said to him, "So, tell us a little about your family, like how old are the kids and stuff."

Raph began, "Well, my father is the only non-turtle in the family. He's a mutant rat that adopted the rest of us. The others are my siblings--three brothers and a sister, only none of us are biologically related. My sibs and I are the same age, which is eighteen."

"Wow!" Mitchell was surprised, "And I thought you were somewhere between twenty-five and thirty, and that you were the father."

"No, I'm just a brother and a son, along with three others..."

"Oh, great." Lisa whined, "We're going to a place with a bunch of guys."

"I'm excited about that," said Eva. "More males of our species! Daddy won't be so outnumbered!"

"I'm not too excited about it." It was Lisa again, "I don't like guys. I don't need 'em running my life. Besides, all they want girls around for is—"

"Daddy's not like that!" Eva shouted.

"Guys our age are, though." Lisa snapped back.

"These guys aren't like that at all." Sheila spoke up, "These guys are very caring and gentlemanly. Not at all like Jeanique, Jason, and Jerome _were_. I told them of our situation with the street guys, and they want to protect us and keep us away from that."

"What for, so they can have us all to themselves? I still don't trust 'em. They're guys just the same." Lisa stubbornly stated.

Raph turned to Mitchell, "Do you have to live with this male-bashing everyday?"

Mitchell smiled, "I'm used to it, by now, and I take comfort knowing they aren't bashing me, personally. Whenever one of them gets hurt by a guy, Lisa just has to get her anger out of her system. I try to be patient and understanding with these teenage girls and their raging hormone tidal waves—especially with Lisa." Raph and Mitchell shared a laugh together.

"I heard that," Lisa said in a more sarcastically manner, since the joke was on her. Turning around to face her father, she jokingly remarked, "Oh, Daddy, you are just like the rest of the male population." Mitchell and Lisa stuck their tongues out at each other and laughed.

Mitchell whispered back to Raph, "But it sure is nice not to be outnumbered anymore."

Shortly, the group arrived at the bus station. They parked the bike next to an outside bench and "made camp" at that spot. Mitchell and Lisa went to collect the family's other luggage that had been left there, while Mitzi refunded the tickets. Raph set Eva down on the bench and went to call home from a payphone, while Sheila kept Eva company.

"I like Raph." Eva stated, "It was so sweet of him to carry me the whole way. But I don't want to steal him from you if you like him."

"Raph has been my close friend and I'd hate to part with him. But he has three brothers--one of which reminds me of you. You've definitely got to meet this one guy in particular. I just know you'll like him." Sheila patted Eva's shoulder.

"Will Lisa like any of them?"

"She will, once she wakes up and realizes that these guys are not out to get her—they're different."

"Wait a minute! If there are four of these guys and three of us, then one of them will be lonely."

"No, there's another girl, and she likes the other guy."

"Is she nice?"

"She's just like another sister to me."

"You know, Sheila, I'm really glad that you're back with us." Eva put her arms around her sister.

"I'm glad to be back with my best friend in the whole wide world, too." Sheila hugged Eva back, tightly. When Eva winced, Sheila loosened her grasp, but continued to hold her little sister.

"Awww, how cute!" The two of them turned around and saw Raph as he sat down next to Sheila. He went on, "Someone should be here in half an hour with the car to take us home. Are you doing better, Eva?"

"Yeah, a little," she said, "but I may be hungry and weak and sore from...an injury."

"It's from when the street guys got you last night, isn't it?" Raph guessed.

"How did you know that?"

"They told us, and besides, Sheila told me and my family about her situation with all the gory details. You just have the fresh look that you've been in a dirty fight."

"Well, you're right. I guess my black eye kinda gives that away. My shoulders hurt, too. And so do various places on my plastron, my legs, my arms, and my tail."

"It's OK, I've been in many a nasty scrape, myself. Perhaps every last part of me has been injured in some way or another, at least at one time. But my father has herbs for just about anything; you're gonna be fine. My family will help you, too. They help me whenever I get sick or injured, so I've always had time to rest and heal from any injuries."

The other three members of the family were done with getting refunds and luggage, so they joined the others at the bench. Raph got to talk with the family and get to know them a little bit more during the next half hour. It didn't seem that long before Raph saw the familiar hummer drive up.

He excused himself from the others to go and greet the driver, who happened to be Leo. The two of them walked over to the bench.

"Everyone, this is my big brother, Leonardo," announced Raph as he put his arm around Leo's shoulders.

After the others greeted him, Leo began, "There's room in the back for all your stuff, and four of you can ride in the seats, but one of you gets to ride with Raph on his bike. We have lunch waiting at home; plenty for everyone."

They all helped in loading things into the back. Raph and Leo helped the injured Eva into the backseat, where she sat with her mom and Lisa, while Mitchell had shotgun. Of course Sheila was the lucky winner that got to ride on the bike with Raph.

Raph led the way home as he blazed through the winding streets. It was beginning to sprinkle when they drove into the grating, but they were soon parking vehicles and unloading.

They decided that Eva should just find a place to rest while the others worried about unloading. Raph and Sheila walked with her to the manhole. As Raph started down the ladder, he saw Mike at the bottom and called out to him, "Hey, Mikey, Sheila's little sister got attacked last night by the neighborhood bullies. Right now she's OK, but she's still injured and needs her rest. Would you please carry her to the couch after I lower her down the ladder?"

"Okey dokey," agreed Mike.

Raph lowered Eva down the ladder a little ways until she said, "I think I can go from here." But when Raph let go, she began to slip, for the ladder rungs were further apart than she thought they were.

She only fell about two feet or so, until she felt that someone else had hold of her. It sounded like the voice of some guy that said, "I gotcha." Eva turned her head around to see who was there. It was a male mutant turtle with nothing on but an orange mask, orange accessories, and a belt with an orange "M". Other than that, the only thing he was wearing was a smile. It was almost overwhelming, since Eva was only used to seeing other mutant turtles wearing human clothes.

But she looked past that and noticed that the smile this male turtle was wearing grew bigger and seemed to light up his face and put a twinkle in his eyes as soon as his eyes met those of Eva. Wow! He was cute!

"Oh, Eva," Sheila cried out as she descended the ladder. "This is the guy I told you about, that I really wanted you to meet. His name is Michaelangelo, but he likes to go by Mikey. And Mikey, this is my best friend and little sister, Eva."

Mike and Eva shyly glanced at each other and muttered a few nervous "Oh, hi" greetings.

For maybe once in his life, Mike was at a loss for words, but he managed to say, "So, would you like for me to carry you to the couch, Miss Eva?"

"That would be so kind of you," she said as she slipped into his cradling arms. He carried her to the couch in the living area, where he set her down.

"Are you hungry, yet?" asked Mike.

"Oh, yes." Replied Eva, "I didn't even get to eat breakfast this morning. I am starving. So what's for lunch?"

"Well, I thought we could have a simple lunch where everyone has a choice of a turkey, ham, or PB and J sandwich, with their own choice of chips, drinks, and fruit. I know it's kinda simple, but we can have a nice dinner tonight, if that's what everyone wants."

"Sounds nice. So do you usually help with cooking?"

"I sure do. I love cooking. I guess that's because I like to eat what I brew up. I usually do the cooking in this family, ever since I first learned how to cook, at about age thirteen or so."

"I like to cook, too. I've also been cooking for my family since about the same age."

"That's cool that we both like to cook. We should cook together sometime."

"I'd love to, Mikey."

The others had finished getting the luggage down the ladder. It would just stay on the platform at the top of the stairs until after lunch. But since the unloading was done, the hungry group began to head to the kitchen area.

When Mitzi saw Eva talking and laughing with Mike on the couch, she remarked, "Well, it looks like Eva has already made a friend."

"Hey, Mikey," Leo called, "we're ready to eat."

"Okey dokey, just go to the kitchen," Mikey said as he jumped up. To Eva he asked, "Would you like to sit with me?"

"Sure," Eva happily stood up.

"Do you need a lift to the kitchen?"

"No thanks, I'd really like to walk, now. But please save me a seat."

The two families gathered in the kitchen for introductions and a prayer before moving through a simple lunch buffet line and settling down to eat together.

Splinter sat at one end with Mitchell and Mitzi. Lisa was still distrusting of the guys, so she stayed near her parents, along with shy Don and Venus, and loyal Leo. At the other end of the table sat "the fun group": Raph, Sheila, Mike, and Eva.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 5**_

Together

Written by LoaTurtle00 on July 15, 2000

Several hours after lunch, Mike and Raph were chillin' in the room the boys shared.

"So, what are the dinner plans, Mikey?" Raph asked.

"Well," Mike thought out loud, "Since we have more girls in the family, I was thinking we should do something nice for dinner, to celebrate."

"It's Sheila's birthday, so I'd really like to go out somewhere nice."

"Maybe we could take all the girls our age out to eat, like a quadruple date."

"Or we could have a picnic in the park like we did when Venus joined us."

There was a slight knock at the door, and Mike and Raph answered, "Come in."

Mitzi poked her head in and said, "So, is this the boys' room?"

Mike nodded, "Yes, ma'am, it sure is. But you're welcome to come in and have a look around, we're decent."

Mitzi entered, with Eva and Sheila right behind her. "Since this is our new home, I thought we'd explore it a little. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Mike assured as he took out his electric guitar and began tuning it.

"Wow!" Eva marveled, "You play the guitar?"

"It was an old hobby of mine just a few years ago. I haven't played in a while, so it may be out of tune, and I may be out of practice, so here goes nothin'. "

He played a simple tune and the girls applauded. Raph just sat on the bottom of the bunk bed that he shared with Mike and muttered to himself, _"Show off."_ For he was starting to feel left out.

Sheila came and sat on the bed next to Raph and asked, "Is this your bed?" Raph just nodded, and Sheila continued, "I'm so glad that I finally get to see your room. To think that I've been here three days and this is my first time to see it."

Raph faced her and asked, "If you're with your mom and Eva, then where are Lisa and your dad?"

"Dad is probably wandering around getting to know the others in your family. I'm sure Lisa is with him, as if she needs his protection or something. It may be a while before she trusts any of you guys. You'll just have to excuse her if she starts giving a male-bashing speech. Her feminist rampages even embarrass me. She will stop sometime, don't worry."

Mike was playing around by now and showing Eva and Mitzi how to play little tunes on the guitar. Just the sight of it made Raph and Sheila smile. Sheila scooted a little closer to Raph until her small hand brushed across his big hand. Raph took her hand and held it. The two of them intertwined their fingers for a few moments.

Soon they heard Mike tell Mitzi and Eva, "Oh, for supper tonight, Raph and I were just discussing that maybe we—all the teenagers, that is—could have a picnic in the park. Unless you parents want to come, which you're welcome to."

Mitzi thought about it, "I think it's fine with me if just you kids want to go and bond without us. I may not know you boys very well, but I can trust you with my girls, unchaperoned. I think Mitchell won't mind, either, we'll just have more time to get to know Splinter. It's Lisa I'm worried about. I think she's a little timid around you boys, but I'm sure she'll open up sometime. All of you boys seem friendly, so you might have to take the first step to her and give her time. She doesn't mean to be a snob, she's just shy. And when one of her sisters has been hurt, she gets this way. But I think a picnic is just what she needs."

"What we might do is eat our dinner at the picnic," Mike planned, "where we could also play a few little games before we come back home for cake, ice cream, and maybe a movie. Don't worry about Lisa, we'll show her that we're fun and friendly so she just can't resist the invitation."

"Thank you so much, Mikey. It is OK if I call you 'Mikey' isn't it?"

Mike laughed and nodded, "Oh, yes, I like to go by Mikey or Mike. But Michaelangelo is saved for whenever I'm in trouble." The others laughed and he went on, "Even if we're not in trouble, Splinter calls all of us by our full names all the time, I guess because he likes our names. After all, he picked them out for us."

"Well, I think you boys have wonderful names. I was going to go tell Mitchell about the picnic. I'll let you kids hang out together. It was nice to talk with you and see your room, and thanks for the guitar lessons. See ya later!"

Once Mitzi left the room, Mike said to Eva, "I love your mom, she seems like such a neat lady. I'm glad to have her around. Maybe it's because I'm a Mama's Boy deep down, but I've never had a mom to spoil me."

"I don't think she'd mind if you called her 'Mom' at all," Eva said, "She's the only one around here that could be called 'Mom', so I'm sure she wouldn't mind if everyone called her that. I think she likes you, Mikey, and she's glad that we've made friends."

"Uh, what about your dad?"

"I think he likes you, too. So you don't have to worry about him trying to chase you away from me with a shotgun—or a crowbar. But I'm sure he'd like to get to know you better."

"That reminds me...I was originally hoping that this picnic tonight could be like a quadruple date, but I wasn't sure how your mom would take it. I even felt bad about leaving her out of it. But since we just met you girls this afternoon, maybe it could be just a fun, get-to-know-each-other kind of date and not the let's-hook-up-and-be-serious kind. To tell you the truth, I'm not really ready for serious romance yet, but the playful romance is fine for now." And he turned the bill of Eva's cap to the front and pulled it down over her eyes. She giggled in a very little-girlish way.

Even Raph and Sheila laughed. They were still holding hands and just sitting there quietly. Raph broke their silence by looking at Sheila and asking, "Sheila, would you like to be my fun date for the evening?"

"I'd love to!" she replied.

Mike put up his guitar and asked, "What about you, Eva, would you like to go with me?"

"Sure!" Eva enthusiastically replied.

Raph stood up and pulled Sheila to her feet, "So, whaddaya say the four of us go tell the others about our picnic plans?"

"I'm in!" Mike followed Raph and the girls out of the room. Once out the door, he playfully linked arms between Raph and Eva and did a funny walk. Soon the other three joined him and laughed along.

Sheila remarked, "I know we've just barely met, but it feels like all four of us have been friends for a long time."

Mike theorized, "Maybe it's because Raph and I have been best buds for a long time, and you girls have been best buds about as long, and you and Eva are, like, the reflections or female counterpart versions of Raph and me."

"Whoa, that's deep," Raph commented, "especially for something said by Mikey."

The others laughed.

**----**

Meanwhile, Mitchell and Lisa had wandered into Don's lab along with Leo and Venus. At first they were just talking and getting to know one another, but after a while Venus began measuring to get them outfitted for masks and accessories. Don was making blips for them in his tracking program.

Since Mitchell liked orange and his name began with an "M", Leo suggested using the stuff that Mike outgrew. Lisa wanted something different, so she went with Venus to make her stuff in a different room. Mitchell decided to take off the clothes he had been wearing so he could make room for the new outfit--a plain orange mask, orange padded guards for his elbows, wrists, and knees, and a simple belt for his waist with an orange "M" on it.

Once Leo helped him put it on, Mitzi entered the room. When she saw how he was dressed, she marveled, "You sure look different."

"Well, I realize that we're out of the human world and with other turtles who dress like this. Besides, humans need the clothes to stay decent, but we have shells for that job. The heavy clothes we had to wear are just too constricting."

"Those flannel shirts you have just don't allow room for those bulging muscles of yours," Mitzi giggled as she gave her husband's bicep a gentle squeeze.

"You know, Mitzi," he cradled his wife in his strong arms, "whenever you do that to me, it feels as if all those long years of lifting steel girders have finally paid off." He looked at Leo and Don, who were watching the "public display of affection" the whole time, and said, "Yes, you can still be in love at forty-seven."

Venus appeared in the doorway and said, "You look great, Mitchell." He beamed, and Venus looked back over her shoulder to say, "You do, too, Lisa. Come on in; don't be shy."

Lisa was still a little nervous when she came in. Her accessories were done like Venus and Sheila, only they were light pink. Her shin guard/calf protectors were a little longer at the bottom so that they covered over half of her feet and left just enough space for her toes to hang out, almost like toe-less socks. Where there was a yen-yang or a peace sign on Venus and Sheila, there was a dark hot pink heart on Lisa. On her belt was an "L" of the same color. Her mask was a light pink do-rag with the tail of it twisted and secured in a demi-French twist.

"Oh, Lisa," Mitzi began as she went over to hug her daughter, "You look beautiful. Now that you're out of those bulky human clothes, you look so tall and slender. Why, one of these dashing young gentlemen might take notice of you."

Lisa slightly blushed and looked away with an "Oh, Mom." That was her way of thanking her mother for the compliment.

About the same time, Leo saw that Don had been watching, and that he seemed to blush and look away when Lisa did. He smiled to himself at the thought of his shy, quiet brother having a crush on a feminist like Lisa.

"I'm gonna have to get dressed like the rest of you, sometime," Mitzi stated. "But before I do that, there's something I need to tell all of you in here." As they looked her way, she announced, "For supper tonight, the other kids were thinking about having a picnic in the park with just the kids, so they can bond and get to know each other alone. This might also give Mitchell and me some time to get to know Splinter alone. The kids might have dinner in the park and come home for cake, ice cream, and a movie. Mitchell, is that OK with you?"

"Would this be at night?" He asked.

"That is the only time we could be above ground, unnoticed," Leo admitted. "But it's OK, sir. We know of a relatively safe place where we have picnics all the time. We also know how to protect ourselves, just in case, and we won't let anything happen that might hurt your girls."

"Thank you, Leo. I'm so glad to know that I can count on you. OK, I'll let you kids go on a picnic in the park."

Since Mitzi was around, she was the next to be measured and outfitted. Leo decided to take a break from the whole project for a while. He went to the training area and saw Raph in there, giving Sheila a little lesson in self-defense. But when Leo came a little closer, he realized they were mostly goofing off between lessons. Sheila had even taken her overalls off, so that moving around would be easier.

When she saw Leo, she hid behind Raph and looked around him to plead, "Leo, please don't tell my parents that I took off my overalls, they may not approve of me just dressing like you guys. Raph and I weren't getting into trouble or anything, we were just working out and sparring."

Raph didn't see Leo until Sheila started talking to him, and he shot Leo a glare, as if to say, _"How dare you frighten her like that."_

"It's OK, Sheila," Leo assured, "I trust you two wouldn't be getting into trouble. Your parents don't mind if you dress like us. I know that for a fact because they're getting measured for their own Ninja Turtle outfits as we speak."

Sheila and Raph both looked relieved. Raph changed the subject, "So, Leo, have you heard the idea for the picnic?"

"As a matter of fact, Mitzi told me, and also her husband approves of it. Donnie, Lisa, and Venus were in the room as well, so they know about it, too. Where are Mikey and Eva?"

"They're in the kitchen, baking my birthday cake," Sheila stated.

"Seems like they've already hooked up. Go figure. I had a feeling Mikey would find a girlfriend within the first ten minutes of meeting the family. I even knew it would be Eva, just judging by how she talked and giggled in the car on the way over."

"Well, I know Eva, and she's the type of girl who I knew would find a boyfriend that quickly. I also knew she would like Mikey."

"And speaking of hooking up," Raph chimed in, "the picnic tonight is kind of a fun quadruple date. We're not really seriously dating, since we just met these girls, so it's more of a get-to-know-each-other date. Mikey and Eva are going together, and I'm taking the birthday girl." He put his arm around Sheila to emphasize that point. Looking at Leo, he asked, "Who would you like to go with?"

"Ummm..." Leo thought about it, "Well, I've just now been informed about bringing a date, so I'm not sure who to ask."

"I know who you could ask," Sheila announced, "Ask Venus, I know she'd love to go with you."

"Venus and I have been friends for a while, but I just don't know if she wants to be more than friends. As many times as I've taken her to different places, we've never really been an official couple, we've just been friends."

"I hope she won't be mad if I tell you this, but I've had a nice girl talk with her, and she told me that she likes you as more than just a friend, but she regrets that you've both been too busy to get to know each other in a romantic way. She'd be thrilled to be asked by you, I only hope she hasn't changed her mind since we've had that conversation."

"Suppose I do ask Venus, and she ends up going with me...but that leaves Donnie with Lisa. I'm just afraid Lisa will intimidate him too much."

"Don't worry about that," Raph comforted, "this is just a fun time to get to know these girls, and perhaps form new friendships. It's only a bonding experience to share with those of us in the same age group. We're just gonna hang out together. So why don't we go and see what the others are up to."

The three of them headed back to the lab, where they found Don with the rest of the hen party. Venus was measuring Eva, while Mitzi watched and talked with them. Lisa was sitting quietly by herself, still overcome by her new surroundings, her eyes watching Don work just a yard away.

Don turned around when he saw his brothers walk in. "Well, it sure is nice to see other guys for a change. For a moment I was afraid I was the only one left."

Sheila went to hug her mom and say, "Wow, mom! You look great."

Mitzi was wearing maroon knee and elbow pads, maroon wrist guards and ankle supports, and a maroon belt with an "M" on it. Her mask was also maroon, and the tail of it was coiled into a bun.

"Well, you look cute, yourself, Sheila," Mitzi remarked while looking at Sheila's outfit.

As mother and daughter admired one another, Leo placed his hands on Don's shoulders and explained to him that the picnic was a quadruple date. He also added, "I'll let you have first pick on the girl you're more comfortable asking."

"OK," answered Don before turning toward Lisa to ask, "So, Lisa, are you still in total culture shock upon moving here?"

She looked up, surprised that Don was trying to start up a conversation with her. But she nodded and managed a small fake smile and said, "Basically."

"Don't worry, it'll wear off. But I still hope you get more comfortable with us. I mean, I'm glad your family came to stay with us, and I'm glad they brought a nice, quiet girl like you with them. To tell you the truth, I'm nervous around the more talkative and outgoing, loud-spoken girls. Quieter ones are easier to be around. Having four new females around here is kind of overwhelming for me. I'm also the shy type. So seeing that you are also nervous makes me feel better—like I'm not the only one who's scared of being around the opposite gender."

Lisa's smile became more real once she realized Don was genuinely concerned about her. The smile grew even bigger once she got the confidence to look him in the eye.

Don continued, "You know the picnic tonight? Well, the others are going as dates like it's prom night or something. But I think it's just to have fun, hang out, and get a chance to bond with the other teens; it's not much of a serious date at all. I know you've been kinda withdrawn from everyone today, but I hope that maybe at this picnic you can get to know us better. I know I'd sure like to get to know you, since you're a fellow shy person. I'd really be delighted if you would be my date tonight. And if you're not comfortable with that, we can just go as friends. Would you like to join me?"

Lisa couldn't believe she was being asked. _He's probably just like the other guys I've known, and he's trying to trap me by that smooth talking. But yet he seems much nicer than any of the others,_ she thought. To Don's question, she replied, "I'll think about it."

Sheila had overheard them, so she went to Lisa, put a hand on her shoulder, and whispered something in her ear.

Lisa smiled a gesture of gratitude to her sister before turning to Don and saying, "OK, I'll be your date for the picnic."

"Well," Don didn't really know the proper thing to say, but he felt he should say something. So he said, "I look forward to spending my first date with you."

This flattered Lisa. No guy her age ever seemed half as gentlemanly as Donatello. Even more, she began to look forward to her first date with him. _Perhaps Sheila was right,_ she thought.

Raph and Leo were dumbfounded. They couldn't believe Don would actually ask Lisa any more than they believed Lisa would actually say "yes".

Turning to Sheila, Raph asked, "What did you say to her?"

Sheila smiled to herself and said, "I just told her that Donnie was a sweet, Christian guy, and that Lisa would not regret it if she went with him to the picnic, but she would regret it if she said 'no'."

Leo was just standing there, so Raph stated loud enough for him to hear, "So I guess that's three down and one to go." Leo still didn't respond, so Raph barked in his direction, "Ahem..."

That got Leo's attention, so he stepped away from Raph and nervously walked over to where Venus was helping make Eva's new outfit.

"Hi, Venus," he began.

Venus looked up from her work, "Oh, hi, Leo. Are you enjoying this first day of getting to know the Mitchell family? I sure am. I've gotten chances to bond with each of them in a different way."

"Yeah, I think they're real sweet. I think it'll be fun to get to know them at the picnic, as well."

Mitzi spoke up, "I hope you kids have fun at that picnic. I'm not sure if I should look forward to dining with Mitchell and Splinter, or if I should wish I were thirty years younger so I could enjoy the picnic with all of you."

"Aw, Mom," Eva giggled, "you haven't been able to get us out of the house and be alone with Daddy at the same time. Even though Splinter will be with you, I know the three of you will have a party of your own when we leave."

"I'm just glad I don't have to find a babysitter for you girls, anymore." Mitzi thought for a moment, "Come to think of it, I don't just have girls anymore. Now I have an extra daughter," she patted Venus on the shell, "and I also get four boys." Her eyes fell on Leo, since he was the nearest of her new boys. "Oh, Leo, why don't you sit down with us?"

The three girls were sitting at a little table, but they occupied all the chairs.

Eva got up and said, "He can have my seat, and I'll just sit in Venus's lap, if she doesn't mind."

"Oh, I don't mind at all," Venus made room for her.

When Eva sat down, she asked Venus, "Am I squashing you?"

"Not at all," Venus went to work around Eva, "You seem even smaller than Sheila, and I know I can carry her."

Leo sat in the now-empty chair that Eva left. "Uh, Venus, I wanted to tell you something about the picnic tonight."

"I'm listening," Venus said to him, still keeping her eyes on her work.

"The other guys are taking the girls as dates, and since you've been my friend from the time you joined our family, I was wandering if you would be my date for the evening."

"Well," Venus looked confused, "I thought a date was a day on the calendar. I don't understand."

Mitzi put her arm around Venus and explained, "This sort of date is an American courting custom. You told me that you grew up in China, so I wasn't sure if you'd be familiar with some American customs like this. A date is when a boy asks a girl to join him for an evening of dinner, movies, a dance, or anything else, and the two of them get to know one another to see if they might eventually want to marry, if they get along well."

"Oh..." Venus understood now.

Leo placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "We've known each other as good friends for several months, but we've never gotten to know each other on a deeper level than that. I haven't had the chance to be a gentleman and treat you like a lady."

"Oh, Leo," Venus wheezed as a smile began to grow across her face, "I always hoped that someday a romance between us would be allowed to grow. But I feared you would always be busy leading the others, and I felt it was not a good idea because I was the only girl around for a while. So, Leo, I would love to be your...date this evening." She laughed to herself at the thought of using her new vocabulary word.

"How sweet!" Eva exclaimed. She gave Venus a one-armed hug around the neck, which made them look like sisters for life. "Oh, Venus, congratulations! I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you, Eva," Venus returned the hug.

"Wow!" Leo marveled, "It's amazing that you've never been around many other girls, but you bond with them and blend in so well as if you've been their sister and daughter all your life. I could never guess that you've just recently met them. But I'm glad you get along so well."

"Venus is just a 'universal donor', I guess," Eva remarked as she leaned back against Venus as if she were a comfy chair back.

**----**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 6**_

Picnic Time

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Written by LoaTurtle00 on September 23, 2000

It was late evening, and the "Turtle Teens" were gathering at the ladder and getting ready to go to the park for their picnic. They were still waiting on only Venus and Eva, who were still getting Eva outfitted.

Mike was standing around talking to Raph and Sheila. Suddenly, some small green hands covered his eyes. "Ummm…" he began to guess the owner of the hands, but he heard a playful, girlish giggle and automatically knew. "Eva!"

The hands lifted off his eyes and he turned around to see her. She looked different, now that she was dressed as one of the Ninja Turtles and not dressed in her baggy human clothes. Her eyes and smile were still the same, though. Mike stepped back to get a better look at her. Her garb was all golden, and she had shinguards/calf protectors, wrist guards, knee and elbow pads, a left thigh and right armband with a yellow smiley face, and a belt with an "E" on it. Her mask was similar to the shape of Mike's mask, where it had the chin strap and left the top of her head uncovered, but the tail of it was tied up into two little buns on the upper sides of her head, like a "Thumbelina".

"Wow!" Mike kept looking her over, "You look so cute and beautiful—'cute-iful'—you remind me of a little dove."

Eva did her trademark giggle. No one had really realized just how little she was, since she had been wearing the baggy clothes. But now it was plain to see that she was even smaller than little Sheila, and despite her childish voice, she had a very mature lady-like figure.

Eva hugged Mike around the neck and cooed, "And, Mikey, you in that orange suit reminds me of a pumpkin. Mind if I call you 'My Pumpkin'?"

"That's cool with me," Mike replied, "Is it cool with you if I call you 'My Dove'? Or, wait! Since you call me 'Pumpkin', could I call you 'Dovekin'?"

"I like that!" She squeezed him a little tighter, and he returned the hug, thought a bit hesitant at first, since he was now afraid he might mar her beauty if he squeezed to hard. Besides, to Mike, Eva now seemed like the "petite female in need of his protection", and he was afraid of crushing her delicateness, like one might be afraid of holding a butterfly too tightly.

Leo spoke up now that everyone had arrived, "Ok, I think we can get going to our favorite spot in the park, now that everyone is here."

"Have fun, kids!" The parents and Splinter had gathered at the bottom of the stairs and were waving as the teenage Turtles left. The teens waved back.

"We'll be home by…uh…at least by the time the cock crows," Mike informed them.

"If you stay out that late, Michaelangelo," Splinter began, "We'll eat all the cake and ice cream."

"Ok, just joking, we won't stay but an hour or two a the most," Mike compromised.

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After setting up the picnic blanket in the park and sharing some pizza for supper, the Turtles settled down into the couples they came in but they began getting to know everyone in the group. They sat around for a while and asked silly questions to help everyone relax, laugh, and get acquainted better.

After that, they did their own individual things for a while. They turned the stereo on during this time, so whenever a good song was playing, a few couples danced.

Raph and Sheila were mostly dancing. They talked and laughed while dancing, both just enjoying their first co-ed dance together.

"This is the best birthday I could ever ask for," Sheila smiled at Raph.

"I just wish I would've had time to get you a present," Raph shared.

"Oh, that's Ok. I'd rather have an awesome picnic party with a dance like this after being reunited with my family than spend my birthday on the bus, leaving as practically a refugee. Besides, I'm eighteen today. I'm an adult and not a spoiled child that wants only presents. I would much rather do something special—like dance with you. I think this is the best present I could ever get for my eighteenth birthday—a boyfriend like you."

Raph gave her a hug and just held her as they swayed to the music.

Don and Lisa were standing under one of the trees, enjoying refreshing drinks of canned sodas.

"So, Donnie," began Lisa, "I guess you like to do stuff in your little laboratory. I guessed it was yours because there's a sign on the door that says, 'Don's Lab'."

"Yeah," replied Don, "It is my lab. That's where I do most of my computer work. I also like to fix and repair machines and appliances. But my favorite thing to do is invent things we can use for home security and the like. There's even a little room next to it that has a door connecting it with my lab, which we use as an infirmary. Sometimes I help if one of my brothers is injured or sick."

"So are you also like a doctor or nurse?"

"I do what has to be done, but I'm not as good at medical practices as I am with mechanical, electrical, and other physical science types of things."

"Well, medical sciences are my specialty. I'm studying to be a doctor someday."

"That's great! Perhaps if you'd like to do most of your work and studies in that little infirmary, you're welcome to do that. We need a real doctor in the family. We could even leave the door open between our offices most of the time, so that in case business is boring, we could talk and help each other out. It sure gets lonely in that lab when I work by myself for several hours."

"That sounds nice. I'd love to be working in a nice, quiet place like that, especially if I had a companion nearby that I could talk to. If you don't mind, we could even turn the radio on, or we could have a Bible study with some of the others."

"That sounds great. I think I'll enjoy your company, and I hope you can tolerate mine." They both laughed.

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Leo was discussing some of his new ideas with Venus. "I was thinking that maybe we could train the other girls to something that would help us in battle, besides fighting. They've lived this much of their lives not knowing how to fight, so we could at least teach them to defend themselves, but we could let them be more like trainers, nurses, or managers, since they are not as experienced in the martial arts as we are. Since I've been the designated leader of the guys, and you are as self-disciplined as me or even more so, and you've had a whole year of experience with our ways, I think you ought to be the leader for the girls. You and I could get together once in a while, represent both groups, and perhaps discuss different plans for each group to do. This might help keep a teamwork spirit with all of us, and it would give me the chance to be around you." He gently nudged her as he emphasized the last point.

"Consider me interested in your idea, Leo," Venus agreed. "You can count me in, as long as it won't be all business and no fun…" She leaned her head against his shoulder and they both laughed.

|o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o

Eva was still limping around from last night's injury, but Mike was helping her around. The two of them started playing with the glow-disc for a while, until soon they were including everyone in it. Glow-disc soon evolved into a game of volleyball in which different couples got to play together. They mixed up the teams once in a while so as not to develop cliques, but rather so a team spirit would grow for the entire group.

When they settled down from the sports, Mike picked up his guitar and began to serenade Eva. The other girls thought it was sweet, so they stopped to listen. Eventually the other three guys joined Mike in singing a few simple love songs to the ladies they loved, especially to Sheila since it was her birthday.

It was soon time to go back to the lair for cake and ice cream. They settled down in the living area to watch some animated movies. Since the new girls didn't have beds set up yet, everyone just had a co-ed slumber party in the living area.

Everyone was dozing off to sleep. Sheila was still awake. Wondering if she was the only one that hadn't fallen asleep yet, she sat up and looked around. A sleepy voice behind her complained, "Hey, Sheila, sit down, I can't see."

She turned around to see that Raph was still awake. His sleeping bag was situated perpendicularly above hers. She could tell by the way he smiled when she turned to face him that he was only joking; especially since the only thing on the TV set at the time was the credits.

"Hi, Raph," she smiled back at him and laid back down, only now she was facing him. "Thanks for making my birthday a great one."

"It was my pleasure, anything for My Girl, Sheila. Oh, by the way, I do have a present for you, but I wanted to wait for a good time to give it to you."

"What is it? Or is this even the 'good time' to give it to me?"

"I think this is the best time. But you have to close your eyes."

Sheila closed her eyes and asked, "When can I open them, again?"

She never heard Raph answer; she just felt the gentle wetness of his lips on hers. Then she drifted off to sleep.

|o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o |o|o|o

THE END

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